WICKSTRUM'S BOOK 
ON POULTRY 




ILLUSTRATED 

PRICE, ONE DOLLAR 



COPYRIGHTED 

BY P. M. WICKSTRUM 

1910 



PUBLISHED BY 

QUEEN INCUBATOR COMPANY 
LINCOLN. NEBRASKA 



IP 




p. M. WICK.STRUM 






)CI.A295518 



PREFACE 

The information given m this book is that gleaned 
from an experience of almost a quarter of a century in 
actual poultry raising. It is given to the farmers and 
others who are not engaged exclusively in poultry rais- 
ing in the hope that some of the experiences or sug- 
gestions will help them to get more profit and enjoy- 
ment out of the work. The statements made are based 
on facts, not theories. 

The information given on the different subjects is 
of necessity condensed, as a volume could be written 
on any one of the subjects, but the main points are 
brought out in a practical way, with the result that a 
beginner, by reading these pages . and giving thought 
to the subjects presented, will gain a general know- 
ledge of practical poultry raising as it is carried on by 
the average individual. 

If this work gives assistance to anyone its object 
will have been accomplished and the desire of the 
author gratified. 

P. M. WICKSTRUM 

Lincoln, Nebr. 
October 1, 1910. 



^(omp ani/' 



BREEDS OF CHICKENS. 




THE AMERICAN CLASS. 

DREEDS of chickens are divided into a 
number of classes, the most import- 
ant of which is the American class. 
This class is made up of breeds 
oirginated in America, and compris- 
es the Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, 
Rhode Island Reds, Dominiques, Javas and Jersey 
Blues. All these are clean legged fowls and are of 
medium size — the size that meets the demands of our 
markets. They are all considered general purpose 
fowls, combining the qualities of good layers and good 
table fowls. 

Each of these breeds is divided into a number of 
varieties. There are the Barred, White and Buff 
Plymouth Rocks, all of which are very popular and 
are extensively raised by both poultry fanciers and 
farmers. In point of numbers raised, the Barred 
variety takes the lead. As poultry fanciers are con- 
tinually creating new varieties of fowls, the list of 
Plymouth Rocks is growing quite lengthy as in addi- 
tion to the three varieties mentioned we have of later 
origin and lesser popularity the Partridge, Silver 
Penciled, Golden Barred and Columbian Plymouth 
Rocks. Of these the Partridge variety is very much 
admired and will, without doubt, grow in favor with 
all classes of poultry raisers. 

The original Plymouth Rock— the Barred variety, 

Page 5 




1 . Barred Plymouth Rock cock. 2. Barred Plymouth Rock pullet. 3. 
Silver Penciled Wyandotte cock. 4. White Wyandotte hen. 5. Rose 
Comb Rhode island Red cock. 6. Single Comb Rhode Island Red hen. 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

bluish gray in color — is referred to as America's great- 
est production. It is a favorite with fanciers and farm- 
ers alike, and while other breeds and their varieties 
will come and go, the Barred Plymouth Rocks will 
always remain — the idol of American poultrymen. 

The Wyandotte breed is divided into no less than 
thirteen varieties of which the Whites are by far the 
most popular, although the Silvers are the original 
Wyandottes and were first known as American Se- 
brights. The Whites resulted from what is termed 
"sports" from the Silvers. Nearly all colored breeds 
of chickens will occasionally produce a pure white 
one. By selecting the white sports from Silvers and 
breeding from them for a term of years, the pure white 
variety was produced. Today the Whites breed truer 
to type than any other Wyandotte variety. Other va- 
rieties are the Golden, Buff, Black, Partridge, Silver 
Penciled, Columbian, Cuckoo, Buff Laced, Violet 
Laced, Blue and Buff Columbian. These are all the 
results of crosses, and it required many years of work 
in breeding to establish these varieties £0 that they 
would breed reasonably true. In addition to the 
Whites and Silvers, the Golden, Buff, Partridge and 
Columbian Wyandottes are favorites ariiong poultry- 
men and are quite extensively bred, but the remaining' 
and newer varieties have not attracted much attention, 
and are rarely ever seen outside of the yards of a few 
fanciers. 

The Wyandotte as a breed is one of the very best 
races of domestic poultry. Wyandottes are all purpose 
fowls and are profitable for any branch of poultry 
raising. In size they average about a pound less than 
the Plymouth Rock. It is interesting to note that some 

Page 7 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

large buyers of market poultry pay a premium above 
market prices for Wyandotte fowls, while others prefer, 
and pay more for Plymouth Rocks. 

No breed of chickens came to the front more rap- 
idly nor received a heartier reception at the hands of 
poultrymen, than did the Rhode Island Reds. Their 
brilliant red color attracted the eye of the fancier, and 
their productiveness appealed to the farmer and com- 
mercial poultry raiser^ — so much so, that in many in- 
stances the old time Barred Plymouth Rock favorite 
had to give way to this new comer. As a practical fowl 
it is doubtful if in the entire category of the fowl race, 
there is anything better than the Rhode Island Reds, 
originated by practical poultrymen in the state of Rhode 
Island, from whence, together with the color of the 
plumage, the breed derives its name. This breed is 
made up of two varieties, distinguished only by the 
style of the comb, one being rose and the other single. 
No difference in point of usefulness between the two 
varieties is noticeable. 

What are called Rhode Island Whites are known 
in a very small way in the extreme East, but it is doubt- 
ful if they will ever attract greater attention than at the 
present time, owing to their close resemblance to the 
white varieties of the Plymouth Rock and Wyandotte 
breeds. The Buckeyes, a comparatively new breed, 
which has a color similar to that of the Rhode Island 
Red, does not give promise of attracting world-wide 
attention as has the Red breed. 

Black Javas and Dominiques are the oldest races 
of poultry of American origin, and they have long since 
lost a hold on poultry breeders, and just why, no one 
seems to be able to tell. It is pretty well established 

Page 8 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

that the combined blood of these two breeds is respon- 
sible for the popular Barred Plymouth Rock, which 
takes its color from the Dominique. Aside from the 
black variety, there are also the pure white and the 
mottled (black and white) Javas. Javas and Dom- 
iniques are good breeds, but it seems that they are 
destined to sink into oblivion, a fact deeply regretted 
by men grown gray in the work of building up the 
money-making breeds of American fowls. 

Jersey Blues, perhaps the oldest of American breeds, 
are almost extinct, due, no doubt, to the breed not 
having any special qualities to commend it to the rank 
and file of poultry raisers. 

THE ASIATICS. 

Under this head we have the Brahmas, Cochins 
and Langshans — the feather-legged family of chicken 
aristocracy — first brought to American shores by sea 
captains from ports in the Asiatic country. It was the 
advent of these enormous feather-legged fowls into 
America that created the first real interest in poultry 
breeding. The original importations consisted of what 
we now know as Cochins and Brahmas, but were 
known in the early days as Brahmapootras, Chitta- 
gongs and Cochin Chinas. Langshans came later, 
and were a perfected breed in the hands of England's 
fanciers before reaching this country. 

Brahmas are the largest of all the races of chick- 
ens. There are two varieties, the Light and the Dark, 
either one of which has enough of fowl beauty to at- 
tract the eye of anyone. Light Brahmas have long 
been popular, but the Dark variety, beautiful steel gray 

Page 9 




1. Light Brahma hen. 2. Light Brahma cock. 3. Buff Cochin hen. 4. 
Buff Cochin cock. 5. Black Langshan hen. ^6. Black Langshan cock. 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

in color, has never been extensively bred, although 
truly deserving of a more prominent place in fowldom. 

There are four distinct varieties of Cochins — the 
Buff, Partridge, Black and White, the first named hav- 
ing always taken the lead, with the Partridges a close 
second. The craze for an abundance of feathering on 
the Cochm fowl, from the top of its head to the ends 
of its toes, that came from England to America a doz- 
en or more years ago, had much to do with lessening 
the popularity and particularly the usefulness of these 
massive chickens. Among poultry showmen, Cochins 
are regarded as ideal show fowls, but for a commer- 
cial poultry business they cannot be looked to as a 
breed having the necessary qualities to commend them. 
For the city lot poultryman. Cochins are, however, 
profitable to handle, as they are not inclined to forage 
for their food, are easily confined and will produce an 
abundance of eggs in winter weather. This is also 
true of Brahmas. 

The original Langshan was glossy black through- 
out in color. Later the white variety appeared, and 
in more recent years came the Buff and Blue varieties. 
The latter, however, is hardly known in this country. 
The Whites are scattered well over the country, but 
do not receive the attention given the original Black 
Langshan. The Black Langshan has more admirers 
than any other Asiatic variety. So stately is it in car- 
riage that it is referred to as the Lordly Langshan. 
1 his variety is profitable to keep on the farm as well 
as in the yards of the fanciers. Throughout the cen- 
tral section of the United States they are raised in large 
numbers by farmers. The most serious objection that 
was ever raised against them was in reference to their 

Page II 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




Buff Orpington hen and Black Orpington cockerel. 



Page 12 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 



dark shanks and white skin. Chickens of American 
origin all have yellow skin, and there was a time when 
no other class of fowl would command attention in 
our markets, but nowadays the distinction is not so 
great. This is no doubt due to the fact that several 
very popular and profitable varieties of chickens brought 
to us from foreign shores have white skin, sometimes 
of a blue tinge or pink-white color. 

Until about fifteen years ago all the leading Asiatic 
varieties were extensively bred, but about that time pro- 
gressive American fanciers placed before the poultry 
public the new American creations, and breeders of 
"America's Greatest Production" displayed renewed 
energy in advancing claims for their favorites. Along 
with this, England sent us some of her new clean legged 
chickens, and the result was that Asiatic fowls were 
rapidly cast aside by many of their old time admirers 
for the fashions of the day. During the past year or 
so, however, there appears to be a renewed interest in 
some of the Asiatic varieties. Particularly is this true 
in reference to the Black Langshans, and the time may 
again come when the most fashionable fowls will be 
among those of the Asiatic class. Poultry fashions 
change as do the fashions of dress. 

ENGLISH FOWLS. 

It is not the purpose of this work to delve into 
English poultry history and give an account of all the 
races of chickens that come under the head of the Eng- 
lish class, but reference will be made to those English 
breeds which have won favor at the hands of Amer- 
ican poultrymen. 

Page 13 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

The Dorkings, of which there are three varieties 
— Silver Gray, Colored, and White — were the origi- 
nal English fowls to be taken up in this country, but 
the Silver Grays are the orily ones that really became 
generally known. The Silver Gray Dorking is a beau- 
tiful fowl in color and is heavy bodied with clean 
shanks, but like the Langshan, its white skin was against 
it in our markets. 

The Dorking fowl is responsible, however, for 
much of the good that American poultrymen find in 
England's greatest production — the Orpington. The 
Orpingtons are a remarkable breed, and although only 
known in this country a few years, they are found 
in large numbers in every section of the country. Large, 
massive bodies set low down on stout, clean shanks, 
combining exceptional egg-laying and table qualities, 
all go to make the Orpingtons all-around fowls 
adapted to every purpose that a breed of chickens 
would be kept for. 

There are eight varieties of Single Comb Orp- 
ingtons, viz: Buff, Black, White, Diamond Jubilee, 
Spangled, Ermine, Partridge and Blue, and in addi- 
tion there are rose comb varieties of the three first 
named. For some time the Buffs were the only Orp- 
ingtons that commanded attention, but during the past 
year or so the Whites have become almost as popular, 
while the Blacks are a close rival of the Black Lang- 
shan. Other Orpingtons are kept only in small num- 
bers and are not widely known. The introduction of 
Orpingtons into America killed much of the preju- 
dice that existed against fowls with bluish-white shanks 
and skin. 

What were originally called Cornish Indian Games 

Page 14 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON' POULTRY 



and were recognized as belonging in the game fowl 
class are now known as Cornish fowls and in the near 
future will be transferred to the English class. 

Cornish are fine table fowls and males of this breed 
are frequently used for crossing with other breeds or 
with common chickens for improving the table quali- 
ties. The original Cornish are dark in color — a com- 
bination of black and brown. White Cornish are gain- 
ing ground slowly, but the Buff variety has never been 
given much consideration. The latest addition to the 
Cornish breed is the Buff Laced variety, the merits of 
which are now being advanced by the originator. 

Red Caps are an old English breed, but they nev- 
er became popular in America, although they are ex- 
cellent layers, . 

THE MEDITERRANEANS. 

In this class we have the Leghorns, Minorcas, 
Black Spanish, Mottled Anconas, and Blue Andalu- 
sians, the Leghorns being the most extensively bred of 
all the Mediterranean breeds. These breeds had their 
origin in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean 
sea. They are the natural laying breeds, and in this 
respect hold their own so well, that practically every 
exclusive egg farm in America is stocked with some 
variety of the Mediterranean family, the Single Comb 
White Leghorn being the variety most generally used 
for this purpose. 

The Leghorn breed is made up of the following 
varieties: Brown, White, Buff, Black and Silver Duck- 
wing, and these are sub-divided into the Rose and 
Single Comb varieties. All are of the same size and 
Page 15 




1 . Single Comb Buff Leghorn cockerel. 2. Single Comb White Leghorn 
pullet. 3. White Face Black Spanish cock and hen. 4. Mottled An- 
cona pullet. 5. Mottled Ancona cockerel. 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

shape and general make-up, one variety being distin- 
guished from another solely by the color of the plum- 
age and style of the comb. Leghorns are not only 
used on exclusive egg farms, but are just as popular 
among general farmers. Their large, white-shelled 
eggs make an attractive appearance in the market places. 

Minorcas are the largest of the breeds in this class 
and their eggs, on the average, are larger than the eggs 
of any other breed. There are the Black and White 
Minorcas in both Rose and Single Comb, and of late 
a new variety called Barred Minorcas has made its 
appearance. This new variety has plumage of the 
same color and markings as the plumage of the Barred 
Plymouth Rock. 

Black Minorcas of both combs are very popular, 
but the single comb variety takes the lead, which is 
only natural as it is the oldest representative of the 
Minorca family. Minorcas are not as attractive in 
appearance as the Leghorns, and not having yellow 
skin and shanks as do the Leghorns, no doubt accounts 
for the White Minorca not being kept in as large num- 
bers as the White Leghorn. Rose Comb White Mi- 
norcas are bred only in a small way at the present time. 

Blue Andalusians very much resemble the Minor- 
cas in shape, but are somewhat smaller. So far this 
is the only breed clothed with blue feathers that has 
ever attained any prominence. They are very pretty 
and are splendid layers of white eggs, fully as large as 
Minorca eggs. Although belonging to the laying 
breeds, the Andalusion is considered quite a good ta- 
ble fowl. 

The White Face Black Spanish is one of the old- 
Page /7 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




Houdan cock and hen. 



Page 18 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

est breeds of domestic fowls. They closely resemble 
the Black Minorcas in shape and color of plumage, 
but their milk-white face makes them distinct from all 
other breeds. The face of the Spanish fowl is cov- 
ered with a kid-like substance which extends well 
down the neck, surrounding the wattles. This pecu- 
liar characteristic of the Spanish makes it different 
from all other chickens. 

Anconas are much newer than the other breeds in 
this class. They could well be called Mottled Leg- 
horns, as the standard requirements call for exactly the 
same size and shape of body and same comb as are 
demanded for Leghorns. The plumage of the Anco- 
na IS evenly mottled black and white. While not as 
well known as the Leghorns, the Anconas are fast 
gaining ground among those who are seeking a breed 
of natural heavy layers. Anconas rival the Leghorns 
as egg producers. 

MISCELLANEOUS BREEDS. 

Aside from the popular breeds mentioned in the 
foregoing pages, there is a long list of useful and orna- 
mental breeds not usually kept on the farms, but 
which are much thought of by poultry fanciers who 
want to combine striking beauty of plumage with 
utility. Included in this list are the French, Dutch, 
Polish and Game classes. 

The Houdan is the only French breed that has 
become at all popular. It is a very old breed, but 
never had a boom like some of the other breeds. On 
the contrary it has steadily advanced and is continuing 
to advance. The Houdan can be classed with the 

Page 19 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

general purpose breeds, being a good layer of large, 
white eggs, and a good table fowl. In France, its 
native home, the Houdan is as popular as the Barred 
Plymouth Rock is in the United States. The black 
and white plumage, evenly mottled, and their large 
crests make the Houdans attractive fowls. 

The leading Dutch breed is the Hamburg, the 
Silver Spangled variety being the most extensively 
bred. Hamburgs are small fowls and belong in the 




Buff Cochin Bantam cock and hen. 

heavy laying class. When they were first brought to 
the attention of poultrymen they were known as Dutch 
Everlasting Layers. They were also called Mooneys 
and Pheasants. It is doubtful if there is a prettier 
chicken than the Silver Spangled Hamburg. 

The Polish fowls, all adorned with large crests, 
are strikingly ornamental and appeal strongly to fan- 
ciers who admire something odd as well as beautiful 
in chickens. The White Crested Black, Golden and 

Page 20 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

Silver Polish are generally known and bred by fan- 
ciers, but as a general rule they are not raised in large 
numbers, as the demand for them is not sufficient to 
justify anyone in handling a large flock. For the per- 
son who wants to supply his own table with fresh 
eggs and have something that will add attractiveness to 
the home surroundings, the Polish fowl will fill the bill. 

Games are not bred for egg production or for 
market purposes, although no fowls will surpass them 
as table poultry. They are kept principally by the 
sporting classes who admire their fighting proclivities, 
which quality is encouraged by Game fowl breeders. 

There are numerous other breeds of rare and or- 
namental chickens, some of which are really useful 
and give good returns for the cost keeping them, 
but they are not well enough knoym to justify a de- 
scription in these pages. As this is being written, ar- 
rangements are being made and contracts closed with 
poultry breeders in foreign lands, to send large exhib- 
its of fowls to exhibitions of poultry in this country. 
These exhibits will be made up of breeds never 
before seen in America, and their advent on this side 
of the water will, no doubt, create a still greater desire 
on the part of American fanciers to add variety to the 
already long and varied list of pure bred chickens. 



Page 21 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




UP-TO-DATE POULTRY HOUSES. 

This picture shows the poultry houses on the rear of a city lot at the 
home of O. Compton, Lincoln, Nebr., who derives both pleasure and prof- 
it from his flock of Black Orpingtons. These houses were built along mod- 
ern lines. They represent a combmation of the fresh-air and curtain-front 
types of houses. The center house, which is 12x16 feet and was origin- 
ally a small barn, is used as a fitting room for show stock, a feed room, etc. 
A bone cutter, clover cutter and feed mill are operated in this house, the 
power being furnished by a small gasoline engine. Alfalfa or clover 
hay is kept in the loft for use as desired. The low front of the scratching 
shed always remains just as it is shown in the picture, but the wire netting 
sides of the shed are covered with canvas curtains, the same as the top, 
during the winter. There are no partitions between the scratching shed 
and main part of the house. The roosts are above a raised platform along 
the rear side, and on real cold nights a curtain is dropped down in front of 
the roosts. People who have visited Mr. Compton's place say that his 
poultry houses are the best they have seen. 



Page 22 




POULTRY HOUSES 

>7/,.^===. <=< I 'HE purpose of this work is to impart 
■"■ information to farmers, and to people 
living in villages and the outskirts of 
cities, who derive pleasure and profit 
from raising chickens on a town lot, 
and m many instances in only the 
back yard, therefore no special reference will be made 
to the designs of poultry houses erected on exclusive poul- 
try farms. Anyone who raises chickens is interested in 
knowing that poultry plays a prominent part m the re- 
sources of our country and that the raising of poultry 
can be successfully carried on as an exclusive business, 
yet, what the average poultry raiser is interested in 
most, is that which can be applied to his particular 
requirements. It is with these thoughts in mmd, that 
special reference will be made to poultry houses best 
suited to the average poultry raiser. 

Seventy-five per cent of all the poultry produced 
in the United States comes from the farms, but it is 
only m recent years that the farmers have given par- 
ticular attention to the matter of poultry house con- 
struction. Chickens, and particularly the growing 
stock, will do well when roosting in the trees m sum- 
mer time, but if the fowls are forced to roost out in 
this way during the winter weather, returns in the 
way of eggs will not be forthcoming, therefore the 
wise poultry keeper will consider the comfort of his 
hens in cold weather if he desires to make a profit 
from keeping them. 

Page 23 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




IDEAL SUMMER QUARTERS. 

Fruit trees make fine shade for chickens, and chickens must have shade 
in hot weather or they will not do well. The above picture shows the 
comfortable summer quarters for chickens at " Fairview," the home of 
W. J. Bryan, near Lincoln. 



Those who have made a careful investigation of 
the matter of housing fowls to get the best results, no 
longer advocate the tight houses, lathed and plastered 
and heated with stoves, for general use as was the 
custom a few years ago. Many learned to their sor- 
row, that this unnatural way of housing chickens, 
weakened the fowls' constitution, and saw what was 
once a flock of vigorous and productive chickens de- 
teriorate until they were of practically no value. 

Fresh air for man, beast and bird is now the cry 
all along the line, with the result that the open-front 
or fresh-air poultry house has come into general use, 
which in turn has resulted in healthier and more vig- 
orous stock than it was possible to have under the sys- 

Tage 24 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

tern of close housing. There are exceptional cases, 
however, when the snugly built, lathed and plastered 
houses are advantagous. Sometimes it is necessary to 
have the warmest kind of houses for the large combed 
breeds, in order to protect the combs against freezing. 

During the winter it is necessary to have the 
fowls' roosting quarters so constructed, that drafts on 
the fowls at night will be avoided. Strange as it 
may seem to the inexperienced, chickens that roost 
right out in the open will not contract colds nearly as 
quickly, if at all, as will those that roost in a house 
with cracks or holes m the walls and are thereby in 



^''f'^'2^MM-^^. 




WHERE EGGS ARE PLENTIFUL 

F. J. Lewis' Egg Farm at College View, Nebr., is where Single Comb 
White Leghorns produce eggs in plenty. The poultry house shown above 
extends out from one end of the barn. It is a fresh-air type of house, with 
the feeding room or scratching shed part of the house along the front and 
the roosts and nests along the rear side. This house accommodates about 
300 White Leghorn hens. 

Page 25 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




A WELL-DESIGNED HOUSE 

This poultry house is in use at "Fairview," the home of W. J. Bryan, 
near Lincoln. It is about 14x20 feet in size,' and the entire south side is 
enclosed with glass, as the picture shows. In the newer houses muslin would 
be substituted for a portion of the glass. This would give more ventilation 
and would not interfere with the light to any great extent. When such a 
house is used it is advisable to have a curtain to drop down inside the glass 
at night during the winter. 



a constant draft of air throughout the night. A 
house may be closed tight on three sides and the 
other side left entirely open, and the wind may blow 
in this open side right onto the fowls and still not 
cause the fowls to take cold. All that is necessary is 
to have the house deep enough from front to rear to 
accommodate the roosts at the rear side and thus pro- 
tect the fowls from rain and snow that would at times 
beat in through the open side. But even then there 
is little danger of rain and snow getting in at the front 

Page 26 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

of the building if the front is protected with a hood, 
or if the roof slopes to the front, having the front only 
three or four feet high and the rear side high enough 
to permit a person to enter the house without stooping. 

The front of the fresh-air house should be covered 
with wire netting, with the entrance to the building on 
one side. It is always best to have the front of any 
chicken house facing the south, and to have the door 
on the east side. By this arrangement the north and 
west sides of the building are always tight, which is 
an advantage during cold and stormy weather in the 
winter, as the coldest winds blow from the north and 
west. 




CONTINUOUS POULTRY HOUSE 

Here is a style of house in common use where a good-sized flock of 
hens is kept. This house is divided into apartments and has a yard for 
each apartment. This is a good arrangement where pure bred poultry is 
kept and eggs for hatching are sold. The arrangement is equally good for 
a flock of laying hens, as by having the house divided into apartments the 
flock is also divided, assuring healthier hens and a greater egg yield. As a 
general rule hens do not lay as well when all crowded together as when 
divided into small flocks. For winter use the continuous house is favored 
by most poultry raisers on account of the convenience in caring for the fowls. 
In this style of house it is customary to have a hall or passageway along the 
rear side the entire length of the building. The feed can be kept in this 
hall and then it is an easy matter for the attendant to pass down the hall 
and feed and water the fowls in each apartment. 

Page 27 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




A LEGHORN HOUSE, 

This illustration shows one of the poultry houses used by L. P. Harris, 
College View, Nebr., for housing part of his flock of Leghorns. At the 
time the picture was taken this house was accommodating a large flock of 
young Brown, White and Buff Leghorns. It was designed especially for 
winter use to insure against frosted combs and be conducive to winter egg 
yeild. The house is two feet under ground and is built on a concrete foun- 
dation. The front slopes slightly which permits the rays of the sun to reach 
the farthest side of the building. A house of this style can be built on 
either a large or a small scale. 



Good ventilation m a poultry house is very im- 
portant. In a closed chicken house moisture will 
gather on the walls and this moisture will change to 
frost, causing the house to become very damp, and 
foul odors will be very noticeable. When a flock of 
fowls is confined in a house of this kind during the 
winter, their health is sure to be impaired. But if the 
openings for the windows in such a house are fitted 
with frames covered with muslin, and the glass win- 
dows replaced with these muslin-covered frames, an 
abundance of fresh air will at once be admitted to the 

Page 28 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 



building and the dampness will gradually disappear. 
Muslin-covered windows admit light and air, yet-keep 
out the cold and wind. One very good arrangement 
employed by successful poultry men is to provide each 
opening with both muslin and glass windows, these 
being arranged to slide over the opening, one from the 
left and the other from the right. By this arrange- 
ment the poultryman is permitted to have either a 
glass or muslin window or one-half of each or the op- 
ening not closed at all, as he sees fit. In connection 
with windows in poultry houses, another method em- 
ployed by careful poultry keepers, is that of guarding 




A COMMON STYLE OF HOUSE 

Here is a house used by J. A. Graham, College View, Nebr,, for hous- 
ing his Barred Plymouth Rocks. It is 10x24 feet in size, and shows a 
style of house in common use among poultry breeders. Being on a brick 
foundation rats do not bother by digging under the walls. When a solid 
foundation like this is put in the house can be filled in with several inches 
of dirt, making the floor that much higher than the outside, which means 
that the floor would always be dry. 

Page 29 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




HOUSE FOR A FEW FOWLS 

O. Compton, Lincoln, Nebr., built the small house, shown in the above 
illustration, as an experiment, and the results were so satistactory that he 
built large houses after the same plan. The canvas covered scratching shed 
is 4x6 feet, and the roosting and laying room is 4x5 feet. This is an ideal 
little house for a small pen of fowls. 

against loss at the hands of chicken thieves by placing 
iron bars m the window openings, and also in front of 
the regular fresh air house, wire netting to keep the 
chickens in, being tacked on the outside. In a com- 
munity where one poultryman had his chicken houses 
guarded in this way, this man did not lose a chicken, 
while neighbors all around him had their entire flocks 
taken by chicken thieves. Evidence of the thieves 
having visited the place where the houses were guard- 
ed with iron bars were found, but the thieves undoubt- 
edly felt that too great an effort would have to be 
made to effect an entrance to the buildings as nothing 
was disturbed. 

Page 30 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

One plan of building a poultry house is to divide 
the building into two rooms, using one room for roost- 
ing quarters and the other as a laying and feeding 
room or scratching shed. Aside from being covered 
w^ith wire netting, and iron bars if possible, the front 
of the feeding room should be open. During the 
winter, if the weather should be very severe, this front 
could be covered with muslin. A more convenient 
plan, but more expensive to start with, would be to 
have a canvas curtain on a roller, which could be 
raised and lowered at will. The canvas would really 
be the cheapest as it would last for years, whereas the 




POULTRY AND FRUIT. 

At Strandberg's Poultry Farm, Davey, Nebr., where Barred Plymouth 
Rocks are raised in large numbers, the poultry houses and yards for the 
breeding pens are all arranged in the orchard, with the result that both 
chickens and fruit trees do well — in fact, a poor crop of fruit is unknown 
at this place. There are twenty poultry houses on this farm and each one 
is numbered. In the above illustration house No 5 is for a breeding pen of 
fowls, while house No. 1 5 is occupied by part of the free range flock. 

Page 31 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




HOUSE FOR LARGE FLOCK. 

Among the poultrymen in Lincoln, Nebr., is Geo. Buck, Sr., who de- 
votes all of his time to the work at his Sunnyside Poultry Yards, where he 
keeps nothing but Buff Orpington fowls. The poultry house shown 
above was not quite completed when the picture was taken. When finish- 
ed the house will be covered with Rubberoid roofing. It is 24x36 feet 
and IS divided mto six large pens, the partitions being made of wire netting. 
The front half of each pen is scratching space, and the nests and roosts are 
in the rear half. The roosts are removable for easy cleaning and are 
placed above platforms hinged to the rear wall. 



muslin curtain would have to be replaced almost every 
season. 

The size of the chicken house depends entirely on 
the number of fowls to be kept. Nothing is gained 
by crowding the fowls. From seventy-five to one 
hundred hens is a sufficient number to keep in, one 
house. A roosting room 1 Ox 1 feet will accommo- 
date a set of roosts for 1 00 fowls and still leave plen- 
ty of room to walk around the roosts on all sides. 
The feeding room should be at least 1 Ox 1 5 feet for 

Page 32 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

a flock of this size, but 10x20 feet would be much 
better, especially if the winter should be long and se- 
vere and it was found necessary to keep the fowls con- 
fined in the house for a considerable length of time. 
In town, where chickens are kept in small flocks, 
the house should be made much smaller than the di- 
mensions given. 

With the improved methods of constructing poul- 
try houses and equipping them, the work of caring for 
a flock of hens is brought down to a minimum. Where 
it is desired to utilize as much of the space in the 
house as possible, a platform, commonly known as a 
droppings board, can be placed along the rear side of 




CONTINUOUS POULTRY HOUSE 

The camera did not take in the full length of the building when the 
above picture was taken, as the house is fully 1 00 feet long. The picture was 
taken at the home of A. Wells, Normal, Nebr., and shows the same type 
or house and one that is used in the same manner as the one described on 
page 27. 

Page 33 




A'^^^J»S£^>-? S^^-^ 



FRESH AIR POULTRY HOUSE 

This illustration shows one of the houses in use on Lee Schureman s 
five-acre Single Comb White Leghorn Farm, Lincoln, Nebr. This house 
is built after the design of what is known as the Tolman Fresh Air House. 
The front is four feet high and is entirely open except for the wire netting 
and the iron rods, the latter being used to guard against loss by chicken 
thieves. The awning is used only in summer to protect the chicks from 
the heat. 




GOOD WINTER QUARTERS 

One of the poultry houses on Lee Schureman's five-acre Single Comb 
White Leghorn farm, Lincoln, Nebr. This house is 12x40 feet and was 
constructed after what is known as the Park plan. It is divided into four 
rooms, each I Ox 1 2 feet. The rooms at the center of the building are the 
roosting and laying quarters, while the rooms at the ends are the feeding 
apartments, where the floor is kept well covered with scratching material. 
The openings in this house are provided with sliding glass windows and 
muslin covered frames and are also protected with iron bars. 

Page 34 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

the room at a height above the floor that will make 
it convenient for the fowls to fly upon the platform to 
reach the roosts, which should be above the platform. 
This arrangement proves very satisfactory when the 
house consists of only one room. Where a special 
roosting room is provided the droppings board is not 
necessary, the roosts being supported by stands that rest 
on the floor, one at each corner. No poultry house is 
really complete without sanitary roosts, which enable 
the poultryman to keep the house free from vermin. 
Sanitary drinking vessels and feed hoppers are inex- 




GOOD VERMIN PROOF ROOSTS 

The illustration shows a set of what is known as the "Queen Lice-Proof 
Roost." The stands are made of iron, with a cup-shaped casting at the 
upper part of each stand. These cups are filled with liquid lice killer. Each 
roost bar is made m two parts. The lower part of the bar contains recep- 
tacles for liquid lice killer, and when the upper and lower parts are joined 
together a heavy piece of felt wicking is inserted. This wicking draws the 
liquid from below and carries it to the sides of the bar thus keeping the roost 
thoroughly saturated with the liquid. The deadly chicken mites which in- 
fest ordinary roosts cannot live on the kind of roost described above. For 
the comfort of the fowls and in the interests of greater profits every poultry 
house should be equipped with lice-proof roosts. 

Page 35 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

pensive, yet they render valuable assistance in keeping 
up the health of the fov^^ls and lessening the work in 
caring for the flock. 

In building a poultry house, bear in mind the con- 
ditions as they exist during the winter and construct 
the house to meet these conditions. If this is done, 
the building will prove to be satisfactory for use the 
year 'round. 




COLONY POULTRY HOUSES 

These individual houses are used in different ways. It is a good way 
to house the breeding pens or the laying flocks during the spring and sum- 
mer. A good many poultry raisers place their little chicks in this style of 
houses as soon as they are taken from the incubator, an indoor brooder be- 
ing used in each house until the chicks are old enough to get along with- 
out the brooder. When the chicks are old enough to roost, a set of roosts 
is placed in each house. The colony house plan is very popular and is 
used by many the year around, but in parts of the country where there is 
considerable cold and stormy weather during the winter months it is some- 
times rather inconvenient to go from house to house feeding and watering 
the flocks. In the Pacific coast states and southern states colony houses 
can be successfully used from one year's end to the other. When this style 
of house is used for free range flocks the buildings should be placed far 
enough apart so that the flocks will keep divided during the day. In this 
way each set of fowls will go to their own house at night. An orchard is 
the best place in which to use a number of colony houses. 

Page 36 




CARE OF THE FOWLS 

I 'HE care of the fowls on the general 
■*■ farm does not entail any great amount 
of labor even when the work is well 
done. The main thing is to provide 
the right kind of a house for the fowls 
and have it equipped with sanitary 
roosts. Every farmer knows that lice on the fowls and 
mites in the chicken house take the life right out of the 
chickens, leaving them in a run-down condition, with 
the result that the flock does not give any returns. For 
this reason it is very important that the best methods 
be employed for keeping the house free from vermin. 

On the farm the work of keeping the poultry house 
clean is the most important, as the matter of feeding 
practically takes care of itself for the greater part of 
the year. The hens, having free range, pick up any 
amount of grain that would otherwise go to waste. In 
roaming over the fields and through the orchard they 
get everything they need in the way of a variety of 
feeds — a real balanced ration as the scientific poultry- 
man would term it. No prepared balanced ration 
will ever fill the bill as will the great variety of feed 
that the hen will find on the farm. 

It is only recently that farmers have awakened to 
a realization of how much good the hens do in the 
way of destroying insects in the fields and orchards. 
Some farmers are now increasing the size of their flocks 
of hens for the purpose of having enough hens to eat 
up the grasshoppers that feed on the growing grain, 

Page 37 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




A WELL CARED FOR FLOCK 

The illustration shows a very small peirt of one of the large poultry houses 
and a part of the flock of 700 Silver Spangled Hamburg fowls at the home 
of Col. J. L. Brown, Kearney, Neb. Col. Brown devotes the greater part 
of his time to the care of his fowls and he gives them extra good care with 
the result that his hens are a profitable investment. He sells thousands of 
eggs for hatching and as many more on the market every year. During the 
breeding season the selected matings are confined in yards, while the balance 
of the flock is given free range in the orchard at the rear of the poultry houses. 



thereby decreasing the yield. These things are men- 
tioned, not only to show that the hens on the farm 
make their own living during part of the year, but in 
return render untold service to the farmer in protecting 
the grain and fruit. Such hens, if they are the select- 
ed pullets from the flock from year to year, will fur- 
nish the farmer's wife with an abundance of fresh eggs 
at practically no cost for feed during the spring, sum- 
mer and fall months. 

About the only thing that might be lacking to 
complete the hens diet, is grit in some form. A wag- 
Page 38 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

on load of coarse sand placed within a framework of 
boards near the poultry house will furnish grit, and it 
is surprising how much sand a flock of hens will con- 
sume in a year. 

During the winter more attention must be given to 
the matter of feeding the fowls, especially if the weath- 
er is severe and there is much snow, necessitating keep- 
ing the fowls confined in their house for several days 
at a time. At this time of the year oyster shell and 
grit should be kept in hoppers in the feeding room 
where the hens can have access to it at all times. 
Construct a platform two feet square, one foot above 
the floor, and on this platform place the drinking foun- 
tain. By having the drinking fountain up off the floor, 
the water will be clean all the time. The hens soon 
learn to jump up on the platform to drink. By secur- 
ing the nest boxes to the wall none of the floor space 
will be taken up. A dirt floor is best. Before the 
chickens go into the winter quarters take out the dirt 




DRY FOOD HOPPER 



DRINKING FOUNTAIN 



These are serviceable, yet inexpensive, appliances that pay for themselves 
many times over in a season. Both fountain and hopper are made of gal- 
vanized iron. The hopper can be used for dry food, grit, shell, etc. 

Page 39 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




HEALTHY AND HAPPY 

Fruit trees and alfalfa, providing good shade and the best kind of gr6en 
food, and where plenty of insects furnish animal food for the fowls. This 
picture was taken at "Fairview," the home of W. J. Bryan, near Lincoln, 
Neb. No better conditions for healthy, productive fowls exist for a free 
range flock, and the same is true for yarded fowls when the houses and yards 
are built in the orchard. Here the trees, grass and insects prove beneficial to 
the fowls, and the trees are more productive on account of the insects that 
would otherwise destroy foliage and fruit being devoured by the hens. Fruit 
and poultry make a combination hard to beat. 



to a depth of about three inches and replace with fresh 
soil. By doing this the hens will not be forced to 
work over the dirt that has become foul during the 
summer. Keep the floor well littered with straw, chang- 
ing the straw as often as it becomes soiled and odorous. 

In feeding during the winter, duplicate as near as 
possible the variety of feeds that the hens gather dur- 
ing the summer. Grain is always the main feed. 
Scatter wheat in the litter and let the hens work for it 
during the day. Feed whole corn at night just before 
roosting time. Oats are excellent for laying hens and 

Page 40 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

when steamed will be eaten readily. Put the oats in 
a pail and pour hot water over them. Cover the pail 
and allow the oats to steam until the hulls are softened, 
then pour off the water and mix the oats with bran 
and feed from a trough. A warm feed of this kind 
the first thing in the morning proves very satisfactory. 
Bran, either dry or in the form of a mash, is an ex- 
cellent feed for laying hens at any time. 

Bulky food to take the place of grass in the sum- 
mer can be supplied by sprouting oats in the cave or 
cellar. Alfalfa leaves steamed, and cabbage, in fact, 
most any vegetables that can be kept through the win- 
ter make excellent feed. On the farm there is gener- 
ally something in the way of meat that can be given 
to the hens. Meat to take the place of grasshoppers 
and insects helps along the egg supply in winter. By 
feeding a variety and duplicating summer conditions to 
a certain extent there will be but little danger of the 
fowls overeating and getting out of condition. A quan- 
tity of granulated charcoal in a hopper in the feeding 
room where the hens can eat it at will, will usually 
correct any little ailment that might arise from over- 
eating or insufficient exercise. 

In the foregoing, the care of the fowls on the farm 
is quite generally covered, and in the main will apply 
to the care of the fowls in the city or village. Espe- 
cially is this so in reference to the housing and the feed- 
ing. In town-lot poultry raising, however, a system 
of feeding must be employed the year around as the 
fowls have but little chance to range. They are al- 
most entirely dependent upon their owner for what 
they get to eat, therefore the town-lot poultryman is 
responsible to a very great extent for the results ob- 

Page 41 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

tained from the hens. In town more attention must be 
given to the matter of providing the fowls with grit, 
shell and animal food than on the farm, and as most 
people who keep poultry on a town lot conduct their 
poultry business as a side line from their regular work, 
conveniences in the way of poultry house appliances, 
when used, will materially lessen the work of caring 
for the fowls. 



Page 42 




CARE OF LITTLE CHICKS 

' I 'HE newly-hatched chicks are very 
tender, and if all of them are to be 
raised they must be given careful at- 
tention the first few days of their lives, 
whether being raised with hens or in 
brooders. 

In raising chicks with hens, always have the brood 
coop ready for the hen and chicks before the chicks 
are hatched. In constructing the coop bear in mind 
that the chicks are going to grow, if given half a chance 
and that the hen will desert them long before they are 
large enough to roost in the hen house. For these 
reasons the coop should be made large enough to house 
the chicks until they are half or two-thirds grown 
The coop should not only be made storm proof but 
should be so constructed that rats and other varmints 
that prey upon young chickens cannot molest them 
at night. 

Having decided on the size to make the coop, 
nail the coop together, then cut boards for the floor to 
fit inside the coop. Fasten the floor boards together 
with a cleat at each end, leaving the cleats project a- 
bout an inch on both sides for the sides of the coop 
to rest on. This will prevent anything that might get 
under the coop from raising the floor, thus the chicks 
are safe from that source. The lower half of the front 
should be slatted to keep the hen in, but at the same 
time permit the chicks to go in and out between the 
slats. If each side of the coop, to the height of the 

Page 43 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




TEACHING THE CHICKS TO EAT 

While a great many chicks seem to be told by instinct that they should 
eat, and they eat and grow right from the start, there are others that require 
help. It requires only a little help each day for three or four days to get 
all the chicks to eating regularly. When chicks are hatched with a hen, the 
hen teaches them to eat, but when they eire hatched in an incubator, the 
person who is to raise the chicks must take a little time to get them started 
right. If you will try tapping on the brooder floor, ground, or feeding board, 
preferably on something hard so the sound of the tapping will be he2u:d by 
the chicks, the chicks will crowd around your hand, and if a little feed is 
on the floor the chicks will at once commence picking at it. In this way 
all the chicks will rapidly learn to eat. Just before the chicks go into the 
brooder for the night, take time to feel their crops, and when you find one 
with an empty crop use a little extra care in getting it to eat. Every chick 
should go to sleep at night with a full crop. Notice in the above picture 
how the chicks crowded around the hand when they heard the tapping of 
the fingers on the feeding board. 



Page 44 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

opening in front, is made one inch shorter than the up- 
per part of the sides, with a strip along the front at 
the bottom to hold the two sides in place, a frame 
covered with fine mesh wire netting or window screen 
will slide in back of the slats and when in place at 
night the chicks will be perfectly safe. This is a sim- 
ple method of making a serviceable brood coop, and 
could well be adopted by anyone who raises chicks 
with hens. 

Place the coop where it will be protected from 
the sun during the heat of the day. Shade is very 
important during the hot summer months. However, 
do not get the mistaken idea that the chicks should be 
kept in the shade all the time. Locate the brood 
coop so that the chicks will have opportunity to run 




BROOD COOP FOR HEN AND CHICKS 

This illustrates the style of brood coop described in this chapter. At night 
the frame covered with wire screen is shoved into place and the chicks are 
perfectly safe. 

Page 45 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




BROOD COOPS AS ORDINARILY USED 

The coops shown in this picture answer every requirement, excepting that 
they are not proof against rats and other small animals that are always ready 
to carry off little chicks at night. With a little extra work these coops could 
be made to conform to the description of the brood coop given in this chap- 
ter. The location of the coops in the orchard provides an ideal range for 
the chicks. 



out in the sun and have access to shade at the same 
time. An orchard is the very best place in which to 
keep the hens and chicks. As a rule, people who 
live in town do not have orchards, but nearly every- 
one has either a few fruit or shade trees or bushes 
among which the brood coops could be placed. 

Cover the floor of the brood coop with dry dirt 
or sand and it is ready for the hen and chicks. It is 
best to keep the hen confined in the coop until the 
chicks are from ten days to two weeks old. By that 
time the chicks will have a good start and will be 
strong enough to follow the hen about. On the farm 
it is advisable to give the chicks as much liberty as 

Page 46 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

possible, as the hen will help them to find many a 
choice morsel of food that they would not get if they 
were kept on limited range. The average town lot 
poultry raiser will find it impractical to give the hen 
and chicks free range, therefore it is advisable to at- 
tach a run-way to the front of the coop for the hen, 
having the run-way so constructed that the chicks can 
go in and out at will. 

When the hen and chicks are first removed from 
the nest, give the hen a thorough dusting with insect 
powder and rub a little fresh lard or vaseline on the 
head and neck of each chick. This will remove the 
large body and head lice that may be on the hen and 
chicks. Every two weeks repeat the operation of 
dusting the hen and greasing the chicks. If this is 
done there will be no danger of lice killing any of 
the chicks. 

If a coop with a removable floor, as described, is 
used, the matter of cleaning the coop is very simple 
as the coop can be lifted off of the floor and the floor 
swept and scrubbed perfectly clean in a few minutes. 
The brood coop should be cleaned at least once a 
week, and when through using it for the season, store 
it away in a shed. It is also a good plan to give the 
coop a coat of paint on the outside and a coat of 
white-wash on the inside once each year. This will 
keep it clean and in good shape for many years use. 

Chicks do not require any feed the first two days. 
'From then on until they are from five to seven days 
old they may be fed on hard boiled eggs mixed with 
bread crumbs or bread crumbs moistened with milk. 
After that give them dry grains cut fine. There is 

Page 47 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




AN IDEAL BROODER COOP AND COLONY HOUSE 

No better arrangement for raising chicks in an indoor brooder can be pro- 
vided than that shown in the above illustration. The coop should be about 
4x8 feet on the ground, 3 feet high at the rear and 4 feet at the front. The 
illustration shows the construction of the coop so plainly that a complete de- 
scription is unnecessary. The window opening should be enclosed on the 
inside with fine mesh wire netting. The hinged frame is covered with mus- 
lin. There are many things in favor of a coop of this kind when chicks are 
being raised artificially. It provides an excellent feeding room and perfect 
' shelter in cold or stormy weather, and the chicks are not forced to remain in 
the brooder for hours at a time. It means that the brooder takes the place 
of the hen instead of the hen and coop, thus the chicks only go into the 
brooder at intervals to warm themselves and at night. When the chicks no 
longer require the warmth of the brooder, the brooder is removed and you 
have a very satisfactory colony house in which to house the chicks until they 
require more roomy quarters. A brooder coop and brooder, just as shown 
in the illustration, would prove a profitable investment for any poultry raiser. 



nothing better than the properly prepared dry chick 
food. As soon as the chicks are large enough, feed 
them wheat screenings or whole wheat. Keep sand 
or fine chick grit and fresh water before them at all 
times. Drinking fountains for chicks are inexpensive 
and it is advisable to use them as there is no chance 
for the chicks to get into the water and drown. 

The care of chicks in a brooder is very similar to 
caring for them with hens. However, when a brood- 

Page 48 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

er is used the chicks must be taught to go under the 
hover and must be helped a Httle in order to get them 
started to eating and drinking. Bear in mind that a 
brooder cannot call the chicks or go to them, therefore 
the chicks must be taught to go to the brooder. From 
two to four days are usually required in assisting the 
chicks to get started on the right road, but after that 
they get along line, and in most instances better than 
when they are raised with hens. The poultry raiser 
will be well repaid for the careful attention he gives 
his brooder chicks the first week in order to get them 
started right. Brooder manufacturers who are inter- 
ested in the success of their customers, furnish plain 
and complete instructions for using their brooders. 
The precautions taken to guard against lice when 
chicks are hatched and raised with hens need not be 
considered when artificial methods of hatching and 
brooding are employed. 



Pagt 49 




CARE OF GROWING STOCK 

A FTER the chicks have been deserted 
■**■ by the hen or have been removed 
from the brooder it is best to keep 
them separated from the old fow^ls 
and the later hatched chicks. If 
they were brooded w^ith hens in 
roomy coops they may be permitted to continue using 
these coops until they have outgrown them. If the 
outdoor style of brooder is used it will be necessary 
to provide coops or what is termed colony houses and 
transfer the chicks to these as soon as they have out- 
grown the brooder. If indoor brooders were used in 
brooder coops or colony houses at the start, then all 
that would be necessary to do would be to remove 
the brooder and let the young chickens remain in the 
coop. A little later on when the young chickens be- 
gin to look about for something to roost on, it will be 
necessary to place roosts in the coops or the chickens 
will try to roost outside on the roof or they may take 
to roosting in the trees. There is no serious objection 
against the chickens roosting in the trees during the 
summer, but if allowed to do so the poultry raiser will 
experience considerable difficulty in training them to 
go into the poultry house when winter comes on. 

If the young chickens have free range, their feed 
need not consist of anything but grain. In the morn- 
ing give them just what they will eat up clean. If 
they come up to their house at noon and appear to be 
hungry, give them a little feed, but at night feed them 

Page 50 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 



■ 


■ 1 


m 


mL^imL. . T ,lily> Ml 






1(^5 





YOUNG STOCK ON RANGE 

These pictures were taken at Union College, College View, Neb., where 
a poultry department is being successfully conducted. This department is in 
charge of Prof. C. C. Lewis, president of the college, and a specialty is 
made of Single Comb White Leghorns. In the upper picture some of the 
A-shaped colony houses are shown. These houses are each 6x6 feet, ground 
dimensions. There is quite a saving in building this style of house as the roof 
also forms two of the sides. Young stock grown in such splendid surround- 
ings are sure to grow rapidly and develop into strong, healthy fowls. 




Page 51 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

all they will eat. Try and have each chick go to 
roost with a good full crop. When the chickens are 
raised in confinement the feeding problem must be 
carefully considered, as it is very essential that a vari- 
ety of feed, including green stuff and meat, be given 
if the chickens are to make a rapid growth and mature 
into vigorous, well-developed fowls. The yards 
must be kept clean and the ground spaded up occa- 
sionally. Bran is an excellent feed for chickens that 
are being raised m confinement. It assists in keeping 
the chickens in good condition, making them less sus- 
ceptible to crop and bowel troubles. 




FEEDING THE YOUNG STOCK 

This is the style of feeding coop used on the farm of Perry Strandberg, 
breeder of Barred Plymouth Rocks, Davey, Neb. The coop is raised just 
enough from the ground to permit the young chickens to crawl under the 
edges, while the old fowls are forced to remain outside. The top of the 
coop is covered with wire netting. This is an extra good arrangement for 
feeding young chickens on a farm, where all the poultry, old and young, 
has free range. It enables the young stock to get plenty of feed to insure 
steady growth, while the old fowls are not overfed. Every farmer would 
profit by adopting this plan of feeding. 

Page 52 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




A GOOD COLONY HOUSE 

This house is 4x6 feet on the ground, 6 feet high in front, and 5 feet high 
at the rear. It can be used for housing either hens and chicks or a brooder 
and chicks. It can also be used for growing stock or for a pen of grown 
fowls. Also see illustration on page 54. 



When making the rounds to close the coops for 
the night, examine the chickens occasionally to see 
that they are not becoming crowded. Young chick- 
ens that are crowded at night will sweat and are liable 
to contract colds when they come out into the cool air 
in the morning, especially along during the fall. 
Whenever chickens get too warm at night they lose 
strength, their growth is retarded, and they will not 
Page 53 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

develop into as good fowls as they would if care was 
taken to prevent crowding. Thus when the chickens 
get so large that they are cramped for room in the 
coop, the number should be reduced. 

When the chickens are raised in confinement, it is 
advisable to separate the cockerals from the pullets as 
soon as they can be readily distinguished. If this is 
done they will all grow better and develop into better 
fowls. 

Many of the points brought out in connection with 
the care of the fowls and little chicks can be consid- 
ered in caring for the growing stock. 




COLONY HOUSE FOR GROWING STOCK 

This is another picture of the house shown on page 53, and shows the 
house as it is used in housing young chickens. A frame, with slats attached, 
is placed about eight inches from the floor. Heavy burlap or any other 
suitable material is attached to the under side of this frame so that it will 
bag down. This is for a hover arrangement for the chicks after they have 
outgrown the brooder. When the chicks have reached the age when they 
no longer require the hover, the cloth is removed and the slats are used for 
roosts. This arrangement has been tried out and proved to be satisfactory. 

Page 54 




NATURAL INCUBATION AND BROODING 

N hatching chickens with hens the 
best results cannot be obtained if the 
hens are set in the poultry house 
where the laying hens are kept. If 
this is done there are sure to be many 
eggs lost on account of other hens 
crowding on the nests with the setters. At times the 
hens will fight, resulting in an entire nest of eggs being 
destroyed. The natural instinct of a setting hen is to 
seclude herself and hatch her brood in peace and 
quiet. The poultry raiser will profit by providing his 
setting hens with that seclusion which nature tells them 
they should have. 

Everyone who has had experience with poultry, 
knows that when a hen hides her nest and lays her 
clutch of eggs and sets upon them twenty-one days, 
without being bothered by man, beast or bird during 
that time, each egg is pretty sure to produce a chick. 
This being true, it is advisable to get as close to na- 
ture as possible when arranging the nests for the set- 
ting hens. 

The first thing to consider is the eggs. These 
should be carefully gathered as soon as convenient af- 
ter they are laid. Place the eggs in a cool place and 
thereby guard as much as possible against the eggs 
getting too warm, thus injuring the germs before they 
are set. 

Although a hen may hide her nest up high and 

Page 55 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 







"T^w^'*^'"^' "'' la^ssPiHi^pHi^*^^^^^^^ 









ARRANGEMENT FOR SETTING HENS 

This picture shows a row of nests for setting hens, with a run-way in front 
of each nest, as described in this chapter. It is a good arrangement for those 
who still cling to the old hens for hatching and raising chicks. 



dry in a hay loft and bring off a good hatch, when 
man undertakes to set a hen it invariably happens that 
a better hatch will result if the hen is set in a cool 
place on the ground. A special effort should be made 
to arrange the nests for setting hens in such a manner 
that other hens cannot interfere with the setters. Dif- 
ferent people employ different methods of providing 
nests for setting hens. One method is to make a yard 
twelve feet square and put small coops in this yard. 
Make a nest in each coop so that each hen will be by 
herself. Keep feed and water in the yard and allow 
the hens to leave their nests and return to suit them- 
selves. It is best to visit the yard twice a day to see 
that two hens have not gone onto one nest, but as a 
usual thing only one hen will be off of her nest at a 
time. When coops of this kind are used they could 
be cleaned out after the chicks have hatched and the 
hens and their broods left in the coops. But if this 

Page 56 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 



is done, each coop should be fitted out with a remov- 
able floor and a frame covered with a wire screen 
for the front as described in the chapter on "Care 
of Little Chicks. " 

Another plan is to build a long, low coop and 
divide it into sections, one section for each hen. Then 
have a covered yard the same height as the coop in 
front. Divide the yard into as many sections as there 
are in the coop. Keep feed and water in each sec- 
tion of the yard and leave the front of each section of 
the coop open. When this method of setting hens is 
followed there is no chance of two hens getting onto 
one nest. Each hen will have her own way and will 
rarely ever break any eggs and good hatches are gen- 
erally the result. 




NESTS FOR SETTING HENS 

This is the style of ne^t boxes described in thi= chapter, except that the 
run-ways to be used in front of the nests do not show in the picture. 

Page 57 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

When the hens are set they should be given a 
thorough dusting with insect powder, and if they are 
given an opportunity to enjoy a dust bath when they 
come off of their nests for feed and water, hce will not 
cause much trouble. If the hens have been handled 
gently and are tame, it is an easy matter to transfer 
them from the nests in the laying house to the hatch- 
ing nests, but hens that have not not been handled 
and are therefore wild, will not always content them- 
selves on strange nests. It always pays to be gentle 
with the hens, no matter what they are kept for. 
Hens that are treated kindly will be better layers, set- 
ters, and mothers, than will those that are frightened 
every time anyone goes near them. 

The matter of brooding the chicks with hens is 
taken up in the chapter on "Care of Little Chicks." 



Page 58 




ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION AND BROODING 

DEFORE the methods of hatching and 
■^ raising chickens artificially came into 
general use, the chicken business did 
not amount to much. The business 
was not talked of and written about 
as it is now, therefore the demand 
for poultry products was far less than it has been in 
late years. Now the demand for poultry and eggs is 
greater than ever before in the history of mankind, and 
although poultry raising is carried on in every section 
of the country, yet the demand is far greater than the 
supply. Prices are such that every product sold from 
the poultry yard brings a profit. 

Conditions as outlined above would not exist if the 
modern artificial method of hatching and brooding had 
never been brought into use. People can hatch and 
raise chickens with hens but not enough of them to 
make it a paying proposition. The advantage of us- 
ing incubators, is that more chickens can be hatched 
in a given length of time and can be hatched when- 
ever they are wanted, either winter or summer. Then, 
too, when incubators are used for hatching, the hens 
can be broken up when they become broody and 
started to laying again. 

It is not necessary to have a special place in which 
to operate an incubator. A dry well- ventilated cellar 
or basement or one of the rooms in the house answers 
the purpose just as well as any other place. While 
well made incubators will maintain an even tempera- 

Page 59 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




AN ORIGINAL IDEA 

J. A. BELL, Staves, Ark., conceived the idea or surrounding his incuba- 
tor vi^ith blanket partitions in order to make a saving in oil consumption. He 
w^as operating the incubator in a coid room and found that by enclosing it 
in one corner, as shown in the picture, the heat cou d be maintained with 
less oil. The idea is preoe.it;d to others who may copy it to advantage. 

Page 60 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

ture when operated in a room where there are ex- 
tremes in temperature, yet the operation of the machine 
is more satisfactory if it is in a room where the tem- 
perature does not vary to any great extent, as in a 
basement. Good incubators are equipped with heat 
regulators that work automatically and can be de- 
pended upon. 
* 
Unfortunately any poorly constructed incubator can 
be made to show up well on paper, therefore it is 
quite a puzzling proposition for the beginner to decide 
on the kind of machine to buy, when the desire is to 
get a dependable hatcher. But if the prospective 
purchaser will bear in mind that a manufacturer of a 
good machine gives full information regarding con- 
struction, while a manufacturer of a cheaper product 
has but little to say about construction, the matter of 
deciding is not so difficult after all. A good incuba- 
tor can be bought for a reasonable price, therefore 
every poultry raiser should be the owner of a good 
hatching machine. 

The matter of operating an incubator entails only 
a small amount of work. In reality it is a pleasure 
to care for an incubator. There is a fascination about 
the work that is hard to explain unless it is that there 
is something about helping to bring new life into the 
world that holds the thought to the work in a differ- 
ent manner from that which connects the mind with 
the general run of work. All forms of life mean much 
to the human mind — even the life of a little chick is 
held dear. 

Incubator manufacturers who really desire that their 
customers meet with success, send plain and full instruc- 

Page 61 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




INCUBATOR IN SPARE BEDROOM 

A. E. Krueger, breeder of White Plymouth Rocks, Madison, Wis., op- 
erates his incubator in a spare bedroom where it is never molested, thus al- 
ways does good work. When care is taken in filling the lamp, everything 
about the incubator is perfectly clean. There is nothing to prevent anyone 
from operating an mcubator in any room in any house when the incubator is 
properly constructed. 



tions with each machine. Starting the incubator, car- 
ing for the lamp and turning and airing the eggs are 
fully explained. Those things necessary to have, to 
get a good hatch in an incubator, are a well made in- 
cubator to start with, fresh eggs from healthy stock, 
correct hatching temperature, proper turning of the 
eggs, the right amount of ventilation and moisture. 
With these things, success in hatching artificially is 
assured. That it is an easy matter to have the essen- 
tials necessary for success one needs to refer only to the 
thousands of farmers, mostly farmer's wives, in every 
section of the country, each one of whom hatches 
hundreds of chicks every year. 

Page 62 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

Incubators have made it possible for poultry on 
the farm to be a profit-making crop. They have 
made it possible for poultry breeders and fanciers to 
increase the size of fowls by hatching the chicks early 
in the season, thus giving them ample time to develop 
fully before cold weather. 

Brooders are made in different styles and sizes. 
There are those made storm-proof for outdoor use, 
and others made for indoor use. One style of outdoor 
brooder is made to be heated with a lamp and an- 
other will be used without a lamp, the latter being 
known as a lireless brooder. Indoor brooders are 
made in the same manner. The best fireless brood- 
ers are those equipped to be heated with hot water 
whenever artificial heat in the brooder is required. 

A great many more chickens can be raised with 
brooders than with hens. In fact, brooders are abso- 
lutely necessary when chicks are hatched in large 
numbers with incubators. There are more poor brood- 
ers offered for sale than good ones. It don't pay to\ 
buy a poor one. A person can get some idea of the 
worth of an article by the price asked for it. It is 
unreasonable to presume that a very low priced article 
is as good as an article that sells for a fair price. It 
does not necessarily hold, however, that the highest 
priced brooders are better than all others. In buying 
a brooder, consider the quality of material used, 
the method of construction and workmanship, then it 
will be easy to tell if the price asked is right. Al- 
ways bear in mind that a good brooder is just as im- 
portant and necessary as a good incubator. 

In the chapters on "Care of Little Chicks" and 
Pagt 63 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




AN ORIGINAL PLAN 

A. E. Krueger, breeder of White Plymouth Rocks, Madison, Wis., hit 
upon a novel plan of handling his indoor brooder by placing it on a very 
low truck for convenience in pulling it in and out of the shed provided for 
shelter, as shown in the above picture. In nice weather the brooder is pulled 
outside and the chicks have the run of the yard, but at night and on stormy 
days the brooder is pushed back into the shed. The idea is original with 
Mr. Krueger, who is pleased with his way of handling his brooder. 



"Care of Growing Stock" the systems of feeding are 
given. The feed that is good for chicks with hens is 
also good for chicks with brooders. Warmth, fresh 
air, exercise, a variety of wholesome feed and enough 
of it to keep the chicks growing, milk when conven- 
ient, and clean, fresh water to drink, are the essentials 
necessary to raise chicks successfully m brooders. 
Brooders go hand in hand with incubators and it is 
this combination in modern hatching and brooding 
machinery that has been of such great help to poultry 
raisers in making the poultry business prominent enough 
to be recognized by the national and state governments 
and represented by the largest live stock organization 
in existence. 

Page 64 




BREEDING WATER FOWLS 



F the several breeds of clucks, only 
two have attained great popularity. 
These are the Pekin and Indian Run- 
ner. Rouen ducks are quite generally 
bred by farmers and duck fanciers, 
but this breed is not used on duck 



rarms 



The Pekin is the market duck and the Indian Run- 
ner the layer. The Pekin is often referred to as the 
Plymouth Rock of the duck family, wrhile the Indian 
Runner is heralded far and wide as the Leghorn of 
the duck family. 

In addition to the Pekin, Indian Runner and 
Rouen breeds, there are the Colored and White Mus- 
covy, Aylesbury (white), Cayuga (black), Crested 
White, Blue Swedish, Gray and White Call, Black 
East India, and the new Buff and Blue Orpington 
ducks. The Call and India ducks are small, being 
the bantams of the duck family. 

Ducks are very hardy and will stand most any 
kind of weather, therefore it is not necessary to go to 
much trouble in housing them. In nice weather and 
especially on moonlight nights they will not go under 
cover. They seem to enjoy sleeping out in the barn 
lot or in the poultry yard. Ducks generally lay their 
eggs at night or very early in the morning and in most 
cases they do not take the trouble to find a nest. It is 

Page 65 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




PEKIN DUCKS 

advisable to shut the clucks up at night in a yard or 
shed and keep them in until the middle of the fore- 
noon. In this way all their eggs can be secured. If 
the ducks aie not shut up they will wander out in the 
fields or if there is a pond or creek nearby they will 
go there, with the result that many of the eggs will 
not be found until they are too old for use. It is not 
uncommon for ducks to lay their eggs in water. 

As ducks are bred now it is not necessary that 
they have water to swim in in order for them to do 

Page 66 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON' POULTRY 



well and be productive, but as they enjoy the water 
and keep themselves clean when permitted to swim, 
it is advisable to let them do as nature tells them* pro- 
viding a watering place is convenient. By having a 
swimming place, the ducks will not soil all the water 
that is placed out for the chickens or that is in the 
stock- watering trough. 

On free range ducks will pick up a great deal of 
feed, especially when they can go to a pond or creek, 
near which the soil will be soft and damp, and they 
can dig for worms and the tender shoots of grass. In 
feeding ducks it is necessary to have water to drink 
before them while they are eating. They must have 
water to assist them in swallowing their food. Ducks 
will do best when fed on mash food in preference to 
whole grains. 

The habits of geese are about the same as those 
of ducks. But geese will consume more grass than 
any other species of fowl. If they can have the range 
of a pasture they will graze there from morning until 
night, and during the spring and summer will get in 
this way practically all the food they require. At 




INDIAN RUNNER DUCKS. 



Page 67 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

this time of the year if it is found necessary to give the 
geese any grain, a feed of oats at night will suffice. 
During the winter geese will eat grain and alfalfa and 
clover leaves. Both geese and ducks are very profit- 
able when raised on the farm. 

Of the several breeds of geese the large gray Tou- 
louse are the most popular. This breed is known as 
dry-land geese, as they do as well without water for 
swimming as with it and do not appear to mind it in 
the least when they are deprived of a swimming place. 
Most all other breeds of geese are not so contented 
without water for swimming as are the Toulouse. 

Other quite popular breeds of geese are the White 
Embden, Gray African, Brown and White Chinese. 
The Wild or Canadian geese are recognized as a 
Standard breed and are gaining favor with water-fowl 
breeders. They are easily domesticated and are quite 
a profitable breed. Egyptian geese are not widely 
known and in fact are rarely ever seen, although they 
are a Standard breed. The latest addition to the 
goose family is the Buff breed, of average size and of 
pleasing color. 

Geese are valuable as market fowls and for their 
feathers. In fact, a good per cent of the profit that 
comes from raising either ducks or geese is in the 
feathers. 



Page 68 




SUCCESSFUL TURKEY' RAISING 

TT IS quite generally supposed that tur- 
•'• keys are difficult to rear and keep at 
home after they are grown, but ex- 
perienced turkey raisers all contend 
that turkeys are as easily raised and 
managed as are chickens. Turkeys 
are naturally of a roving disposition, and are not con- 
tented m confinement. They are great foragers and 
will gather most of what they want to eat while rang- 
ing over the farm. It is advisable, however, to feed 
them once each day some place about their roosting 
quarters. This encourages them to return home at 
night. When turkeys, either old or young, are kept 
free from dampness, given plenty of range, green food 
m abundance, and have plenty of fresh air without 
draughts at night, the matter of raising turkeys success- 
fully is well in hand. 

Throughout the west central states where farms 
are large, raising turkeys can be carried on very suc- 
cessfully. Farmers are learning that there is no better 
method of protecting the growing grain from grasshop- 
pers and insects than to have a flock of turkeys roaming 
over the fields daily. In 1 909 one Nebraska farmer, 
who has his entire farm of over 400 acres in alfalfa, 
bought a small flock of turkeys to eat the grasshoppers. 
That year he raised 300 young turkeys, and he was 
so well pleased with the way they kept the grasshop- 
pers down that he retained 1 00 of the young hens for 
breeders the following season. The other 200 netted 

Page 69 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

a neat sum on the market. Now the flock of turkeys 
on this farm is considered the best paying crop. It is 
the intention to rear them in large numbers in the future. 

An institute speaker from Ohio, who spent the en- 
tire winter in the Missouri river valley section, talking 
cm farm topics, including poultry subjects, remarked on 
various occasions that the farmers as a class through- 




BRONZE TURKEY 

out this section were overlooking a golden opportunity 
by not raising turkeys. In riding on the train from one 
institute to another this man, as he passed some spot 
where there was a small piece of woodland, a stream 
of running water and on across the hill a wide field of 
grain, would exclaim, "What a glorious place for a 
flock of turkeys! Why, the farmers out here don't 
know how to make money easy. " There is much 

Page 70 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

food for thought in the suggestions made by this prac- 
tical man from a more densely populated section of 
the country. 

Turkeys can be successfully hatched and reared 
by artificial methods. This is being done by a few 
who have realized the value of raising turkeys in large 
numbers, but the average farmer who starts in a small 
way will find that if he arranges nests in secluded spots 
about the farm buildings and allows the turkey hens 
to find these nests, lay their eggs and hatch their young 
in nature's way and unmolested, that it will be the 
quickest way to get a good sized flock the first year. 

Dampness is injurious to the newly hatched poults, 
therefore as soon as the young are hatched the hen 
and her brood should be removed. to a roomy coop in 
which there is a board floor covered with sand. Do 
not attempt to get the poults to eat until they are two 
days old. Then feed them hard boiled eggs crumbled 
real fine and dry bread soaked in sour milk. Milk is one 
of the very best feeds for both turkeys and chickens. 
After the poults are ten days old they can be fed on 
small grains or grains cut fine. Keep the turkey hen 
confined in the coop about six weeks, allowing the little 
ones to run in and out of the coop at will. After that 
the hen and poults can be given their liberty each day 
as soon as the dew on the grass has dried. 

See that the turkeys are all home for the night, 
and as soon as the young ones begin to look about for 
a place to roost, see that they are provided with suit- 
able poles where they will be protected. If the brood 
coop they were started in is large enough, it would be 
well to place a roost pole in it. The poults will roost 

Pa^ 7/ 



WICKSTRUM' S BO OK ON POULTRY 

when quite young, and during warm weather they will 
do better if roosting alongside of the hen than they 
would if hovering under the hen. Turkeys grow to 
such large size and bring such good prices on the 
market that anyone having range enough will be well 
repaid for raising even only a small flock each year. 

In point of popularity the Bronze turkeys take the 
lead, but the White Hollands have become almost as 




WHITE HOLLAND TURK EY 

well known and are prized very highly by those who 
keep them. The feathers from the White Hollands are 
quite valuable. This variety is not inclined to wan- 
der quite as much as the Bronze. They are more 
domestic in their habits. The Bronze and White 
Holland turkeys are the only ones that are disseminated 
over the entire country. The Narragansett, Buff, 

Page 72 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

Slate and Black varieties are raised in a limited way 
in certain localities only. In some parts of the coun- 
try they have never been seen, and, in fact, most peo- 
ple have never heard of them. 

Another variety called Bourbon Red Turkeys ex- 
ists, but has not yet attained sufficient prominence to be 
recognized as a Standard breed. For profitable tur- 
key raising the general farmer would succeed best with 
either the Bronze or White Holland varieties. 



Pose 73 




STARTING WITH POULTRY 

^HERE are two ways of getting a start 
with pure bred fowls. One is to 
buy eggs and hatch the chicks and 
the other is to buy fowls all ready 
mated for breeding. Buying eggs is 
the cheapest way at the beginning, 
but starting with fowls is the cheapest in the end. 

When a person understands what constitutes a 
good specimen of the variety he has decided to start 
with, then buying eggs for hatching will prove satis- 
factory, for such a person will be able to pick out the 
culls and retain only those chicks which come up to 
the requirements for the breed. But if the person is 
not familiar with the breed and does not know that 
there will be some culls in every lot of chicks, no mat- 
ter how good the parent stock may be, taking it for 
granted that every chick raised from the eggs which 
he bought is good enough to breed from, then the 
buying of eggs for hatching will not always result sat- 
isfactorily to the purchaser. However, no one but the 
purchaser can be blamed in such a case. In an in- 
stance of this kind it may take several seasons before 
a uniform flock of true to type fowls is built up, while 
the person who knows what is required in his breed 
has what he wants right in the start. 

A man who buys eggs for hatching should not ex- 
pect too much. It is unreasonable to expect eggs that 
are shipped by rail, sometimes for long distances, to 
hatch as well as they would if set at home. TTiere 

Page 74 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 



are plenty of cases on record where eggs shipped long 
distances have produced remarkable hatches, but even 
then any one who buys hatching eggs should be sat- 
isfied if fifty per cent of them hatch. This would be 
getting pure bred chicks at a reasonable price. 

In buying fowls to start with, if good stock is 
bought, the purchaser knows as soon as the fowls 
come into his hands just what good specimens of his 
chosen breed are like. Each hen bought will pro- 
duce enough eggs to hatch at least two broods during 
the first hatching season. In the fall the flock of young 
stock can be culled and those that do not have shape 
and color corresponding to the old stock should be 
disposed of. In this way an extra good flock is se- 
cured in one season. 

A suitable house should be ready for the fowls 
when they are received. By having everything all 
ready, the fowls will soon become familiar with the 
new surroundings and the hens will start laying in a 
short time. To buy fowls without first preparing a 
place for them is a great mistake. 

Either way of starting with a pure breed has its 
advantages, and it remains for the beginner to decide 
which way will suit him best. 



Page 75 




POULTRY SHOWS AND SHOWING 

POULTRY shows are the life of the 
poultry business and they should be 
encouraged by every state and by 
every county. The shows create 
new interest from year to year, with 
the result that each year's poultry 
output shows an increase in volume. The more in- 
terest that can be created in good poultry, the more 
demand there is for poultry products at increased prices. 

Poultry shows are educators. The best speci- 
1 mens of the breeds are placed on exhibition to be 

viewed by interested spectators. The specimens in 
each class are examined section by section by a judge 
who is thoroughly posted on all the breeds, and prizes 
are awarded to those specimens which approach near- 
est to the standard requirements as demanded by the 
American Poultry Association, the highest body to 
which poultrymen have to look for guidance along 
poultry lines. After the awards have been placed, 
visitors to the poultry show have opportunity to com- 
pare the best fowls with the others in the same class 
and from such comparisons learn wherein the winning 
specimen excels and what constitutes a good chicken. 

Aside from those breeds of chickens that are bred 
solely for their beauty of plumage or because of some 
oddity, such as is displayed in the crested breeds, the 
shape of the fowl is very important, and, in judging, 
is given consideration before the color of the plumage. 
The popular breeds, all of which are in the utility 

Pagt 76 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

class, must have good breast development, broad 
backs of good length, and v^^ell filled bodies. These 
points indicate good laying qualities and plenty of 
good poultry iheat. Take a well formed fowl with a 
well shaped comb, a bright eye that denotes vigor and 
strength, place it upon a pair of stout clean legs, and 
clothe it with a coat of glossy feathers that distinguishes 
it from other fowls, and you have a chicken that is 
sure to give good returns for its keep. There is no 
one to say that a chicken well bred and conditioned 
is not a better fowl than the mongrel of the barn yard 
for producing its share of the products that go to make 
up the great poultry output of the country. 

There is just as much difference between well 




GETTING READY FOR THE SHOW. 

The picture shows Mr. and Mrs. Perry Strandberg, Davey, Neb., pre- 
paring their exhibit of Barred Plymouth Rocks for the 1910 Nebraska State 
Fair. The building shown in the picture is used for housing exhibition coops 
and as a conditioning room for show stock. 

Page 77 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

bred specimens of poultry and the mongrel fowls as 
there is between the Short-horn and the Texas steer 
or the Poland China and the razor-back. The differ- 
ence in poultry is first brought to the attention of the 
uninitiated at the poultry show or the poultry exhibit 
at the agricultural fair, and is the first step toward 
starting another man on the road to successful poultry 
raising. 

In many counties small poultry shows are held in 
connection with farmers institutes and at these places 
the advantages of breeding good poultry is brought 
forcibly to the attention of the farmers, with the result 
that throughout these communities the quality of the 
poultry is being improved from year to year the same 
as is the quality of corn and other farm products. 
The local poultry markets improve and better prices 
are paid for the better grades of poultry products. 
All this helps to add more wealth to the community 
and each individual who has put forth efforts to pro- 
duce more and better poultry profits thereby. So 
great has the business of handling poultry products 
become in some localities that when figures, showing 
the volume of business done, are produced it is hard 
for the average man to realize the immensity of the 
poultry business. During the week of the state poultry 
show at Hastings, Nebraska, in January, 1910, the 
city superintendent of schools compiled a table showing 
what the poultry products handled in Hastings, a town 
of 10,000 people, amounted to for the year 1909. 
Those who saw the figures were astounded when they 
learned that the poultry business in Hastings for one year 
represented an amount of money greater than the com- 
bined capital stock of the four national banks of the 

Pa^e 78 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

city. This illustrates what is being done with the 
chicken business in one community, and the holding 
of the poultry show in the central market place of this 
community created a still greater interest in the work. 

In showing poultry the greatest pains should be 
taken to have the exhibits appear to the best possible 
advantage. The appearance of the coop adds ma- 
terially to the attractiveness of the fowl. Many a 
time a good specimen is shown in a small, poorly- 
constructed coop with the front covered with slats, 
making it difficult for the spectators to see the fowls, 
while on the other hand a poor specimen is shown in 
a neatly-made, roomy coop with a wire front, with 
the result that the fowl of inferior quality will show 




AN EXTRA GOOD EXHIBITION COOP. 

This is a standard size single coop 2x2 feet, 2 i -2 feet high, with clean- 
ing door and drop curtain in front. With a well-made coop like this, fine 
fowls can be safely shipped to poultry exhibitions in winter weather, and the 
coop adds to the appearance of the fowls when they are on exhibition. Note 
how the drinking cup is attached on the outside of the coop by means of a 
patented holder. Double or pen coops are the same width and height as 
above, but are four feet in length. The four-foot coop is provided with a 
partition covered with wire screen instead of canvas. 

Pag^ 79 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

to better advantage and attract more attention than 
will the better bird. But place the well bred fowl in 
a good exhibition coop and there will be no compar- 
ison between the good fowl and the poor one no matter 
how good a coop the latter may be placed in. Too 
much care cannot be taken in the matter of showing 
poultry in neatly made, uniform coops. 

A fowl should never be placed on exhibition until 
it has first been conditioned and groomed for the 
occasion. The plumage should be carefully cleaned — 
washed if necessary, and the legs and feet also cleaned. 
Handle the fowl gently for several days prior to the 
show and have it tame so that it will be contented 
when cooped up and will not become frightened at 
the approach of a stranger or when being handled by 
the judge. Care should be taken to avoid breaking 
any of the feathers when preparing the specimen for 
exhibition, as broken feathers are included among the 
defects. No poultryman can become a successful 
exhibitor until he has first familiarized himself with 
Standard requirements, the defects, and the disqualifi- 
cations of his chosen breed. All this information can 
be obtained from the book called the Standard of 
Perfection, published by the American Poultry Asso- 
ciation, the price of which is $1.50. The publisher 
of any poultry paper or an officer of any poultry 
association is in position to get a copy of the book for 
any party wanting one. 



Page 80 



Wi;CKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




Page 8 1 




THE QUEEN METHOD OF INTENSIVE 
POULTRY KEEPING 

1/^EEPING chickens in confinement on 
•■•^ a small space of ground is known as 
"intensive poultry keeping" — exces- 
sive use of limited room and concen- 
trating one's efforts to produce results. 
This method of poultry keeping 
is what interests business and professional men, or their 
wives and children — a class of people who live in 
cities and usually have only the back part of their 
residence lots to devote to chickens. 

Th? secret of keeping poultry successfully in this 
manner is in having only a few chickens in a coop. 
A large number of chickens in one flock and housed 
closely will not do well, but when they are divided 
into small lots and placed in separate coops they do 
well under the closest confinement. 

The dissemination of knowledge regarding inten- 
sive poultry keeping is doing much to increase the 
production of poultry in places where it was thought 
to be impossible to keep chickens on account of limit- 
ed room. People of the cities are rapidly taking up 
poultry raising on the intensive plan. In most instances, 
a start is made with an incubator, a brooder and one 
coop. After the first brood of chicks is hatched, the 
number of coops is increased as the chicks grow and 
require more room. 

Page 82 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




THE QUEEN METHOD COOP. 

The top picture shows the Queen coop as it is used during the warm 
seeison. The picture below shows the coop ready for cold weather use. 





Paga 83 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




I 



INTERIOR VIEW OF THE QUEEN 
METHOD COOP. 



Page 84 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 



The illustrations of Queen coops in this chapter 
show how a very small space of ground will accom- 
modate the fowls or chicks. 

The coop is 3x6 feet, 3 feet high at the sides and 4 
I -2 feet high at the center. The floor is two feet above 
the ground. This floor is removable and is made in 
two sections, the section at the front side of the coop 
being made to slide back under the other section. 
This construction makes it possible to have the floor 
extend the entire length of the coop, or just part way, 
or just far enough back from the front to leave room 
for the chickens to go up and down on the inclined 
runway at the front end of the coop. 

The upper part of the coop has a removable par- 
tition in the center. This partition shows plainly in 
the picture on page 84. 

Each end of the lower and upper parts of the 
coop is fitted with frames, held in place by door but- 
tons. Two sets of frames are made for the lower half 
of each coop, one set being covered with wire netting 
for warm weather use. For cold weather use, a solid 
board panel encloses the rear end and a glazed panel 
encloses the front. In warm weather, the front of the 
upper part of the coop is enclosed only with wire 
netting, but in cold weather this netting is covered 
with muslin on the inside. The pictures on page 83 
show plainly how the coops are fitted out for the dif- 
ferent uses according to the season of the year. 

The yard at the side of the coop is 3x6 feet. 
Thus a space of ground only six feet square provides 
house and yard room for a pen of matured fowls or 
for a good sized brood of chicks. 

Page 85 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

Figuring that a person is taking up poultry keep- 
ing on the intensive plan, and is starting, as has been 
suggested, with an incubator, a brooder and one of 
the coops, as described, the first use that the coop 
would be put to would be in housing a newly hatched 
brood of chicks. The rear half of the upper part of 
the coop is where the fireless brooder should be placed, 
close to the partition so as to make it easy for the 
chicks to find entrance to the brooder. The best 
style of brooder for use in the Queen coop is illustrated 
on page 87. 

The style of fireless brooder that has been gener- 
ally advocated by a number of parties is simply a 
little box fitted out with a hover cloth. Chicks will 
keep warm from their own heat when huddled to- 




Hundreds of chickens can be raised profitably on the back end of a city 
lot when the Queen Method coops are used. Each lot of chicks has fifty- 
four squeure feet of floor space. The above picture shows how chickens are 
raised successfully on the back end of a city lot. 

Page 86 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

gether in such a box, but suppose you are brooding 
chicks in cold weather, what then? What about the 
heat in the brooder when the chicks leave it for feed 
and water? There is no heat in it then. Newly 
hatched chicks are tender little things and if they be- 
come chilled there is much danger of loss. 

The brooder illustrated herewith is a fireless 
brooder, but arrangements are made to supply heat. 




INDOOR FIRELESS BROODER 

The picture shows the lid of the brooder raised to 
give a view of the hover and hot water warming pan. 
Beneath the hover is a nest of soft straw or hay. The 
warming pan is filled with hot water and is placed 
on the strips above the hover cloth. If the weather 
should be quite cool, a piece of blanket could be laid 
over the warming pan to assist in retaining the heat. 

Page 87 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

Then close the lid of the brooder. In a few minutes 
the brooder is nice and warm and ready to receive 
the chicks as they are taken from the warm nursery 
in the incubator. 

When the chicks are ready for feed and water 
and are given the run of the upper part of the coop, 
they will hover in the brooder when they are tired or 
when they want to get warm. When the chicks are 
young, hot water should be placed in the warming 
pan each morning and evening, and in cold or damp 
weather, at noon, also. 

Drinking fountain, and hoppers for grit, bran and 
dry mash food are attached to the walls as shown in 
the picture on page 84. The floor should be covered 




4*.- 



^f^mhrn^^^. 




CITY POUL'IRY PLANT. 

'""This picture shows part of the intensive poultry plant operated by C. A 
Julian, Lincoln, Neb. The coops are the regular Queen coop with the ex- 
ception that Mr. Julian prefers to have one-half of the top of each coop 
open, or enclosed only with wire netting. 

Page 88 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




ANOTHER PART OF THE JULIAN PLANT. 

The coops shown in this picture are a modined form of the Queen coop. 
They are designed and constructed by C. A. Julian, Lincoln, Neb., and 
prove very satisfactory for growing young stock on the intensive plan. ; 



with dry dirt or sand. After the chicks are a few 
days old and when they have learned to go into the 
brooder to warm up or to remain for the night, then 
the brooder can be pulled back from the partition and 
placed against the rear wall, thus giving the chicks 
the benefit of the extra room m the back part of the 
coop. 

When the chicks are from ten days to two weeks 
old, the inclined runway should be put in place and 
the floor slid back the width of the runway to give 
the chicks room to go down below. This will be a 
new thing to them and they will have to be helped 
up and down a time or two until they become accus- 
tomed to the arrangement. After that the little fellows 
Page 89 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

will scamper up and down as if they enjoyed it. In 
fact, it is good for them as the exercise gives them 
strength. Especially does it strengthen the muscles 
of the legs. 

As there is no floor in the lower part of the coop 
the ground should be hoed or spaded up occasionally. 
This should also be done in the yard at the side of 
the coop. One of the secrets of raising chickens suc- 
cessfully in close confinement is in keeping everything 
clean. This applies to the ground as well as to the 
floor of the coop, the brooder, drinking fountain and 
food hoppers. 

It will not be long until the chicks outgrow the 
brooder, and long before they have reached this 
point the use of supplied heat by means of the hot 
water warming pan will have been discontinued. 
Thus it will not be too sudden a change to remove the 
brooder when the chicks have outgrown it and give 
the chicks the entire back part of the coop for roosting 
quarters. This part of the coop should have a good 
bedding of short straw or hay, and this bedding should 
be changed frequently. As the chicks grow older 
and the coop becomes crowded it will be necessary 
to divide the flock, placing part of the chickens in 
another coop. 

The Queen coop will accommodate six hens and 
a cock nicely by using the lower part for a scratching 
room and the upper part for roosting and laying 
quarters. When the coop is used for housing fowls 
the removable partition in the upper part should be 
taken out. Place the nest boxes at the rear end of 
the coop where it is easy to reach in and gather the 
eggs. 

Page 90 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

Keep the ground in the lower part of the coop 
and in the yard well spaded up so that the fowls will 
have plenty of chance to scratch and dust. 

If oats and wheat are buried several inches under 
ground every time the yard is spaded up, the fowls 
will get the necessary exercise in scratching for grain. 
They will overlook quite a good many of the seeds 
and these will quickly sprout and will assist in fur- 
nishing green and bulky food. 

To the man, woman or child who has longed to 
raise a few chickens and keep a few fowls, but has 
not done so on account of not having a large yard for 
them, the method as outlined in this chapter should 
appeal strongly. This method of poultry keeping has 
been proven a success and it is recommended to those 
who have only a small space of ground on which they 
could keep chickens. 



Page 91 




INCREASING THE EGG YIELD 

[O poultry raiser is getting all the pro- 
fit from his fowls that he should be 
getting unless he is paying close at- 
tention to breeding for an increased 
egg yield from each hen in the flock. 
If the hen is already making a profit 
of two dollars a year for her owner, and she can be 
induced to lay only one dozen more eggs in a year, 
the value of that extra dozen eggs adds just that much 
more to the year's profit. And by adding an extra 
dozen eggs to the yield of each hen in the flock the 
increase in the profit amounts to a number of dollars. 

Proper attention to details in caring for the flock, 
the right kind of feed and a correct system of feeding 
all help to bring about an increase in the egg supply, 
but back of it all is the breeding of the stock. Some 
breeds of chickens are naturally heavy layers, while 
other breeds naturally yield only a small supply of 
eggs, but the latter can, by careful selection of the 
best individuals in the flock, be bred to lay the equal 
of the best natural layers. 

In connection with the breeding of any kind of 
stock it is often said, "Like begets like." That is, if 
you breed from poor stock, the offspring will also be 
poor stock, and if you breed from good stock you get 
good stock. In connection with the breeding of ani- 
mals it is an easy matter to look after the matings and 
raise stock from only the best individuals in the herd. 

Page 92 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 



but to breed poultry systematically — to know the sire 
and dam of each of the offspring, and to be able to 
accurately select the specimens that were hatched from 
eggs produced by the best laying hens, which were 
mated with males that descended from heavy layers 
— a different system from that employed in breeding 
all other kinds of live stock must be used. This sys- 
tem is in being able to tell which hens produced the 
eggs. 




The only method whereby a poultry breeder can 
tell with any degree of satisfaction, and know positive- 
ly from which hens the eggs come, is m the use of 
trap nests. 

Reliable trap nests are as necessary to the poultry 
raiser who wants to be successful and make a good 
profit as are good incubators and brooders. 

Page 93 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

There are drones in a flock of hens just as there 
are drones in a colony of bees. By using trap nests 
you can tell which hens are laying, and then you can 
pick out the "drones" and sell them on the market. 
You can also tell which hens lay only a few eggs or 
not a sufficient number to pay to keep and feed them. 
These poor layers should be sold on the market along 
with the non-layers, thus leaving you with a flock of 




hens each one of which is a good layer and a profit 
payer. 

When trap nests are in use the eggs from the best 
laying hens can be marked and used for hatching 
purposes. By hatching only those eggs produced by 
the heaviest layers in the flock, the pullets from such 
eggs will naturally be good layers, and the cockerels 
from such eggs will have the same blood in their veins 

Page 94 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

and will naturally be the best for breeding purposes 
when the desire is to build up a heavy laying flock 
of fowls. 

With the trap nest system of breeding poultry it is 
an easy matter to improve the shape and color of the 
chickens as well as to improve the laying qualities, 
In^fact, trap nests are valuable to every poultry raiser, 
no matter whether the poultryman is engaged in the 




market poultry business, egg business, or strictly fancy 
breeding. 

It is not many years since the best-informed people 
on poultry subjects commenced to predict that the day 
was not far distant when the leading and most pro- 
gressive poultry breeders, as well as the shrewd utility 
poultryman, would not think of trying to get along 

Page 95 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

without trap nests. As to the fulfilment of this pre- 
diction poultry raisers of today have abundant evidence 
on every side. 

It is generally admitted that the trap nest is to the 
poultry breeder what the separator, the scale, and the 
Babcock test are to the dairyman. The progressive 
dairyman does not think of feeding, breeding, and 
caring for a lot of cows without making frequent tests 




of the product of each cow from which her average 
yield of milk and butter and the percentage of butter 
fat in milk is ascertained. He can come nearer guess- 
ing at results than the poultryman can, but he does 
not chance it because he knows from experience that 
he cannot afford to do so. 

The poultryman should not take chances. In this 

Page 96 



WICKST RU M'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

day and age, when feed is high and poultry and eggs 
still higher, no one can afford to keep a lot of hens 
that don't lay and simply "eat their heads off. " The 
breeder of fine, pure bred fowls cannot afford to keep 
a lot of hens that will not lay eggs for him during the 
breeding seasons when he can get twenty cents or 
more an egg. Neither can he afford to keep hens 
that lay only deformed eggs, or fowls that are incap- 




able of doing their part towards fertilization. No 
poultry raiser who w ants to make all the profit he is 
entitled to can afford to do without trap nests and feed 
sixty cent corn and dollar wheat. 

You never hear of anyone who uses trap nests say 
that poultry does not pay. Of course, there are in- 
stances where poultry is paying, and paying well, 

Page 97 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

when trap nests are not used, but that does not signify 
that it would not pay much better with trap nests. 

The mission of the trap nest is to check loss, 
increase profits, hasten the day when failures in the 
poultry business will be rare indeed, and when almost 
every poultryman will have the best poultry and 
plenty of it. 




[■ 



Pa^e 98 




INCUBATORS AND BROODERS 

[T is estimated that there are some- 
thing Hke 50,000,000 people Hving 
on farms in the United States. When 
one stops to think that the farmers 
must produce the Hving for all the 
people living on the farms, and also 
produce the food products for the other 50,000,000 
people who live in the towns and cities, it is easy to 
see what a great field there is for incubators and 
brooders among the farmers. 

Thousands of incubators and brooders are manu- 
factured and sold every year and yet there are thou- 
sands of farmers who have never used these money 
making machines. It is going to take a long time for 
the incubator manufacturers to get one machine on to 
each farm in our own country, to say nothing of the 
great field in foreign lands. In addition to the new 
field for incubators and brooders, the old field is al- 
ways fertile, because when a farmer gets the machine 
that helps him to make money he buys more of the 
same kind. Then there are the people who unfortun- 
ately buy poor machines, that do not make money for 
them, and as their poultry business requires incubators 
and brooders that produce good results, they in turn 
become buyers of good machines. 

And then, too, a large percent of poultry raisers 
do not live on farms but, mstead, confine their poultry 
operations to more limited quarters in the villages and 
outskirts of cities. Poultry raisers of this class also 

Page 99 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

use incubators and brooders, the number of machines 
so used probably being as great as the number used 
on farms. 

In the face of such conditions it is easy to see that 
the incubator and brooder business is always going to 
occupy a prominent place in the commercial world. 
With the increase in population, the increased demand 



'^M 




for poultry products, and with the increased know- 
ledge of poultry raising for profit, the demand for good 
incubators and brooders steadily increases. The de- 
mand is greater now than it has ever been and there 
is also a tendency among the buyers to select the better 
grades of machines, but it is still difficult to convince 
some people that a very low priced incubator or 

Page 100 



WICKSTRUMS BOOK ON POULTRY 



brooder will not give satisfactory results. When such 
people will not heed the advice of those who know, 
then they must find out for themselves — and they learn 
the difference quick enough. 

There are not as many incubators and brooders 
in use as there should be. No farmer or poultry raiser 
should be without these machines, which so ably 




assist in increasing the profit from the hens. The in- 
cubator and brooder have a great many advantages 
over mother nature when it comes to raising poultry 
for profit. One great advantage is in being able to 
get out a large lot of chicks just at the right time for 
them to reach the marketable age when the price is 
highest, or just at the right time for them to be in 
Page 101 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

their best condition for showing at the fairs or winter 
poultry shows. For instance, if it was the desire to 
make an exhibit at the state fair, the incubator could 
be started in February, thus bringing the chicks out 
about the first of March. This would make them 
about six months of age when they would appear to 
good advantage. The pullets from these early hatches 




would be fully matured before cold weather, which 
means that they would produce eggs in winter when 
the price is high. 

Chicks hatched early — from February to May — 
usually make the most money for their owner. How- 
ever, if a person is paying particular attention to 
market poultry, then the hatching can be carried on 

Page 102 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

profitably all ihe year 'round. Many market poultry- 
men hatch large numbers of chicks in the fall and sell 
them in the early spring for broilers at top prices, 
realizing a nice profit. If these people did not use 
incubators they could not possibly hatch chicks in 
large numbers in the fall and early winter. 

You cannot produce too much poultry and eggs. 




More poultry products are being marketed now than 
ever before, yet prices in general are higher than they 
have ever been. Even at the high prices the demands 
of the market are not supplied. 

Every farmer should own at least one good incu- 
bator, and brooders enough to take proper care of the 
chicks. Brooders are just as important as incubators. 

Page 103 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

There is nothing gained in hatching a nice lot of 
chicks, if the chicks are not raised. It is always ad- 
visable to order the incubator and brooder together, 
and if an indoor brooder is bought it is further advis- 
able to provide a suitable place in which to house 
the brooder and thus have everything ready when the 
chicks hatch. 




A medium sized incubator will produce as many 
chicks as would be hatched by ten to fifteen hens, and 
all being hatched at one time there are no partly 
grown chicks to trample upon the little fellows as is 
the case when hens bring off broods a few weeks 
apart. It is much easier to care for 1 00 chicks m a 
brooder than it is to care for a couple of old hens and 
their broods. 

Page 104 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

A good incubator and a good brooder bear the 
same relation to the poultry end of farming as do the 
cream separator to the dairy, the manure spreader to 
the fields, etc. No farm equipment is complete with- 
out them. They are practical money-making 
machines. 

No man or woman, who is today raising poultry 




as a business proposition would any more think of 
worrying along in the old way, when the hens wan- 
dered about at will, produced eggs only in the spring 
and hatched a few broods of chicks, any more than 
men would go back to the wild life the red men lived 
before white men set foot on American soil. 

The hen already plays a prominent part in the 

Poge 105 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

nation's production of wealth, but she is going to do 
even better than she has been doing because of the 
up-to-date methods employed in the production of 
poultry. The incubator and brooder are largely re- 
sponsible for the prominence of the poultry industry, 
and when every farmer and poultry raiser breaks away 
from the old way of raising chickens and takes up 







the modern artificial methods, then, and not until then, 
will each one realize the profit that he should from 
his poultry work. 

The pictures of incubators and brooders in this 
book are reproductions of photographs of Queen ma- 
chines operated by poultry raisers in different parts of 
the United States. 

Page 106 




POULTRY KEEPING FOR PROFIT 

I 'HE place to make the greatest profit 
from poultry is on the farm. Select 
a good general purpose variety of 
some popular breed and keep nothing 
else on the place. There is no ar- 
gument in favor of keeping mongrel 
stock in preference to pure breeds, and the only argu- 
ment that can ever be advanced in favor of mongrel 
fowls is that they are a little better than no fow^lsat all. 

Discard every hen that does not show signs of 
being productive. By watching the hens carefully one 
can soon tell which ones are helping to fill the egg 
basket. Use only such males as are active and vigor- 
ous, and keep only enough males with the flock of 
layers to insure fertility of the eggs. Surplus males 
worry the hens and quarrel with each other. They 
produce nothing for their owner and are simply a dead 
loss. With a selected lot of layers, properly mated, 
and cared for as given in the chapter on "Care of the 
Fowls," good profits are sure to be realized. 

The best profit from poultry comes from the eggs, 
no matter whether they are sold for hatching or for 
market purposes. Even when every ounce of feed 
that the hens eat has to be bought and paid for in 
cash, the cost of producing eggs is not great, and as 
prices exist now the country over, the per cent of profit 
on the sale of eggs is greater than the profit that can 
be realized from any other poultry product when used 
for commercial purposes. Every poultry raiser makes 

Page 107 



CKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




A SAFE WAY TO SHIP 
BABY CHICKS. 




A GOOD BOX FOR USE IN SHIPPING 
EGGS FOR HATCHING. 



Paee 108 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

a mistake if he does not take pains to improve the 
laying quahties of his flock of hens. 

As soon as a fowl is no longer profitable as a 
producer it should be conditioned and sold. The 
weight of a fowl can be increased materially by special 
feeding for ten days, and the greater part of this in- 
crease is profit. When the young stock is being raised, 
the flock should be gone over from time to time and 
every chicken that does not give promise of develop- 
ing into a good specimen should be culled out and 
sold on the market or used for home consumption. 
It does not pay to feed the culls of the flock after they 
have reached a size large enough for table use. Up 
till this time it has not cost much to raise the chicks, 
a:nd by selling them now a greater profit will be real- 
ized than there would be if they were matured and 
sold later. Then, too, the better chickens in the flock 
have the benefit of the range and the house room. 

A poultry raiser, whether located on a farm or on 
a toMm lot, can suit himself as to whether he should 
sell all his surplus on the market or sell eggs for hatch- 
ing and stock for breeding purposes. In most instances 
a combination of the two is best. 



Page 109 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




A GOOD COOP FOR USE IN SHIPPING 
FINE FOWLS. 



Page no 




POULTRY KEEPING FOR PLEASURE 

[N keeping chickens for the pleasure 
that can be derived by the owner 
because of a desire to possess some- 
thing of animate life, and because of 
the recreation that a man engaged 
in business derives from caring for a 
flock of fine fow^ls, it matters not whether a profit is 
made. While some people who keep chickens for 
pleasure strive to make the chickens pay their own 
way, yet the money part of it is a secondary consider- 
ation. 

The people who indulge in poultry raising as a 
means of recreation all come under the head of poultry 
fanciers, who enjoy breeding fine poultry for the beauty 
they see in the color and markings of the feathers and 
in the form of the fowls. The making of new breeds 
and breeding for perfection in color and shape is truly 
an art. The poultry fancier gets as much genuine 
enjoyment in anticipating the beauty of the feathers 
with which his chickens will be clothed when matured 
as does the artist in looking forward to the time when 
his work with paint and brush will be completed, and 
he will be permitted to gaze with satisfaction upon 
the beauties of a scene rivaling nature in all its splen- 
dor on a May-day morn. 

The love for beauty in fowls is manifested just as 
much among the "common people" who have only 
small back yards, where they keep and breed their 
chosen varieties, as it is among the wealthy who have 

Page 111 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 




FANCIER'S POULTRY HOUSE. 



Page 112 



WICKSTRUMS BOOK ON POULTRY 



FANCIER'S POULTRY HOUSE 

The illustration opposite is of a style of poultry house used by a city fancier 
This house is 8x8 feet, 5 feet high at the eaves and 7 feet at the gable 
The door opens into a hall 2 1-2 feet wide through the center. The chick- 
ens are kept on either side of the hall. The floor space is used for 
scratching pens. Two feet up from the floor is a platform on which the 
roosts and nests are placed, and are reached by the chickens going up an 
incline the same as shown in the Queen coop in chapter on "Intensive Poultry 
Keeping. " Two feet above the first platform or floor is another floor. On 
this second floor are four pens, each two feet wide, on each side of the hall. 
These pens are used for extra birds, setting hens or hens with chicks in 
winter or early spring when it is too cold for the chicks outside. All the 
partitions are made removable so that each side can be converted into one, 
two or three apartments as the user might desire. All partitions are made 
of wire screen. Doors open into each apartment from the hall-way. The 
window openings in front, excepting the one in the gable which is a glass 
window, Me covered with wire screen on the inside. The frames which 
open outward cire covered with muslin. These frames are on hinges and 
are opened and closed according to weather conditions. In the north side 
is a glass window corresponding to the one in the south gable. Two 
doors, hinged at the top open on both sides of the house. Wire netting is 
tacked on the inside of these openings and a small door is cut in the center 
of the netting for each appartment. These small doors aie for the chickens 
to pass in and out of the house. During the breeding season yards are at- 
tached to each side of the house. In nice weather the house is used juat as 
shown in the picture, but in cold weather the doors at the sides and the 
murlin covered frames and the two glass windows are closed. Also see 
picture on page 1 15. This same style of house could be made on a larger 
scale if desired'. 



Pajfe //i 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

their country estates stocked with fowls of rarest beauty. 
It is interesting to note that a great many of the popu- 
lar varieties of poultry were originated by men of 
limited means and in limited quarters. The wealthier 
people, as a rule, do not apply themselves suffici- 
ently to create new things in the poultry world. They 
prefer to buy the finished product and enjoy its beauty 
in its completeness, but the pleasure they derive from 
the possession of the almost perfect specimens does not 
compare with that keen sense of enjoyment that pos- 
sesses the originator as he sees the result of each year's 
mating bringing nearer to him that for which he set 
out to accomplish. 




A PEN OF HOUDANS. 

Houdans are among the breeds that people who raise poultry for pleas- 
ure delight to handle. They are very docile, are easily kept in an enclosure, 
and when treated kindly become great pets. 

Page 114 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 



iilirni-'^ 1 V. 




This is the front view of the house described on page 1 13. This shows 
how the doors to the different apartments open into the hall-way. This 
is a very convenient house to keep clean, and its construction makes it easy 
for the user to handle the fowls, gather the eggs, etc., from the hall- way. 



It requires the best part of a life time to originate 
and perfect a new variety of fowls, and in many in- 
stances it requires years of study and careful mating to 
establish certain characteristics in fowls that will be 
manifest throughout an entire flock. But the fancier 
who breeds poultry for pleasure cares but little for the 
time required in accomplishing his work and for the 
expense attached to it. He buys a specimen that ap- 
peals to his fancy in much the same way that a person 
would buy a bouquet of roses or a ticket to a theatre. 

There is untold pleasure for the fancier in gather- 
Page 115 



WICKSTRUM'S BOOK ON POULTRY 

ing the eggs, hatching the chicks, and watching the 
little fellows grow. Each day something new in the 
development of the chicks will be noticeable — good 
points will show up from day to day, or, on the other 
hand, defects may become prominent, but no matter 
what the gradual development of the chick may bring 
forth, there is pleasure in it all. And so it goes all 
through the various stages of development from the 
shell to the show room, where final judgment is passed 
on the fancier's skill as a breeder. There is pleasure, 
too, in gathering round the festal board and satisfying 
the cravings of the inner man with the choice parts of 
a roasted fowl, even though it once graced the show 
room and won the admiration of the public. 




THE END. 



Page 116 






rflTHE INCUBATORS AND 
^ BROODERS, POULTRY 
HOUSE APPLIANCES AND 
SUPPLIES MENTIONED IN 
THIS BOOK, AND COMPLETE 
INFORMATION REGARDING 
SAME, CAN BE SECURED 
FROM THE QUEEN INCUBA- 
TOR CO., LINCOLN, NEBR. 
SEND FOR FREE CATALOG. 



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